Pact today on recognising degrees

Moving beyond efforts to solve trade and border disputes, New Delhi is set to sign a crucial treaty on education with the Chinese delegation at Hyderabad House here tomorrow.

Moving beyond efforts to solve trade and border disputes, New Delhi is set to sign a crucial treaty on education with the Chinese delegation at Hyderabad House here tomorrow. The treaty is expected to initiate cooperation in science education and “equivalence of academic degrees”.

Sources said the equivalence of degrees would be the dominant theme of the pact. “It will enable the Indian Government to recognise degrees of Chinese universities and vice-versa. Right now, academic degrees, diplomas and certificates from Chinese universities are recognised on a case-to-case basis,” a senior Government officer told The Indian Express.

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The HRD Ministry will be the nodal body on the Indian side and will chalk out the “specifics” of the treaty with the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) and Medical Council of India (MCI). A Joint Working Group (JWG) comprising officials from both sides will oversee the treaty.

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India had a three-year treaty with China on education that lapsed on 22 June this year. Renewing the same, the two sides decided to take educational cooperation beyond the previous terms and conditions.

China, due to its cheaper medical courses, has emerged as a mecca of sorts for Indians and Asians.

The sources indicated that a separate deal on equivalence of degrees might be signed between New Delhi and Beijing at a later date. For that to happen, the AIU, MCI and HRD officials and their counterparts in the Chinese Government will have to sit down and prepare a list of universities and courses, which will be recognised by each other in equivalence.

With the signing of this deal, New Delhi will also look forward to taking lessons from Beijing over imparting science education. “China has done very well in the field of science education. While we have started setting up just three new Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, China has 27 such institutes in place. In the current context of expansion in technical education, outlined by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in May this year, the Indian side is expected to take this up in right earnest.