Tie-ups with foreign universities key area during trade talks, says Piyush Goyal

NEW DELHI: The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal, has said that the government is also working towards raising the quality of higher education by envisaging tie-ups with foreign universities during trade talks with other nations.

Addressing a webinar on “Sabka Prayas: Collective Partnership” on Thursday, Piyush Goyal said, “The New Education Policy (NEP) being implemented across the country now lays stress on skill development. It envisages dual degree programmes, tie-ups with foreign universities, student exchange programme and the promotion of Liberal Arts besides Academics.”

“The NEP involved extensive consultations since January 2015, involving more than 2 lakh suggestions from 2.5 lakh panchayats and proposals from around 700 districts. The NEP has not been criticised by anyone, it was made as a result of Sabka Prayas,” he said.

In the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) talks being negotiated with many countries such as the UK, Australia or Canada, we are trying to include education as a key sector of cooperation, he added.

The minister said that the tie-ups are incorporated among foreign universities keeping NEP as the basis and aiming to reduce fees.

He also said that with ‘Sabka Prayas -Collective Partnership’, the government will be able to reach out to the most marginalised sections of the society.