NEP has changed edu sector, opened doors for international universities: British Council

NEW DELHI: The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has been truly transformative for the landscape of India’s education landscape, said the Country Director India of the British Council, Alison Barrett. It has paved the way for international universities to establish campuses across the country.

In an exclusive interaction with this newspaper, Barrett touched upon various aspects, including trade between the UK and India. On the NEP 2020, she said, “In just five years, what began as an ambitious blueprint has already reshaped the sector – paving way for joint and dual degrees, encouraging research collaboration, supporting student mobility and enabling international universities to establish campuses in India.”

UK’s University of Southampton was the first foreign university to open a branch campus in the country in July 2025 under the new UGC regulations which began a new era in higher education partnerships, she specified.

A new chapter has been opened in transnational education between the nations, she opined, adding “Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad are fast emerging as the first hotspots for this wave of academic expansion.”

The University of Liverpool has secured approval to open a campus in Bengaluru while the University of York, the University of Aberdeen and the University of Bristol have secured Letters of Intent to establish campuses in Mumbai.

Responding to a query on the impact of the adoption of the India-UK Vision 2035 by the governments in July 2025, the Country Director said education and knowledge exchange were crucial aspects of the cooperation. “The agreement is anchored within the wider India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and aligned with India’s NEP 2020. For Indian students, it means more ways than ever to access a UK education – whether through UK university campuses in India, joint and dual degree programmes, credit transfer pathways or skill programmes,” she explained.

The above article is written by S Lalitha of The New Indian Express