India and the United Kingdom (UK) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday to officially recognise each other’s higher education qualifications.
Just as Indian students wishing to pursue higher studies in the UK have welcomed the agreement, those who have been looking for jobs in India after completion of their post-graduation courses from the UK have expressed relief at the news.
Under the new agreement, students clearing Indian undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes will be eligible to appear for higher studies at UK universities. Similarly, UK master's degrees will now be formally recognised in India, enabling Indian graduates in the UK to apply for postdoctoral qualifications when they return home, something they were not able to do earlier.
However, some of the professional fields such as Medicine, Pharmacy, Engineering and Architecture will not be covered under the MoU.
Sumati Kumaran, a Kolkata-based career counsellor, said students completing their undergraduate or one-year PG degree courses at UK universities had to face eligibility issues for government jobs and research programmes in India. “After the MoU, the process would become easier since the degrees will be recognised in both countries,” she added.
Paramita Sengupta, a student from Kolkata applying to different UK universities for a master’s programme in History, said she would have had to work for a couple of years in the UK after completion of the master’s course to be able to come back to India for research. “But the MoU has made things much easier for me. Now, I can come back to India immediately after completion of my post-graduation and apply for jobs and higher studies.”
Commenting on the matter, British Council director (India) Barbara Wickham said, “This is a significant moment of celebration in the India-UK education relationship. The agreement simplifies continuation of academic study and recognition of credentials for employment, benefitting thousands of young people and talented students in both countries.”
The UK has long been a popular destination for Indian students for higher studies, and more than 84,000 Indian students went to study in the UK in the 2020-21 academic year.