Great News: India signals recognition for Australian Pathway Packaged Degrees. A new market will open up in India. A few “fill in the blanks” left though for clarity.

Over the last 6-7 years, several of us have been working to iron out this issue. Way back in 2014 I did the following blog that details the concern:

https://ravilochansingh.com/2014/02/26/shocker-better-prepared-pathway-led-diploma-to-degree-returning-graduates-are-deemed-unfit-for-masters-study-in-india-india-aiu-needs-to-fix-itself-and-institutions-need-to-pre-warn-the-students/

The Problem: Students who return to India need to prove that they have a recognised Bachelor degree for the purpose of undertaking a further study in India (say a Masters) or when a student is apply for a job with the government or public sector or when the student needs to provide evidence that he/she has a Bachelors to be eligible for certain types of businesses. This is when they apply for an equivalence certificate from AIU for their foreign qualification and this is when the “shock” is experienced. While degrees from Australian Universities are granted equivalences, if the degree had a component undertaken at a pathway provider and packaged, that degree was deemed unrecognised.

AAERI has raised this at various forums and only last year it secured the support of Dr Shashi Tharoor who made a strong recommendation to the Indian Government. I must compliment the Department of Education and Training of the Australian Government and the various counsellors posted in New Delhi who had this as a top agenda item for their role.

Finally some very positive indication that the slow moving Government machinery in New Delhi is accommodating the concern as a notification is issued by Ministry of HRD to Association of Indian Universities.

There are a few “fill in the blanks” such as:

1. How will the Universities adjust their transcript to reflect what Government of India desires? Is it possible?
2. Pathway packaged degrees are not only in Australia and so will this notification also bring equivalence to degrees from NZ, UK, USA and Canada?
3. What if the degree had a component undertaken as a TAFE diploma working in similar fashion as a dedicated pathway provider, will that be fine?

We hope to have more clarity in the coming months and till then:let us take satisfaction that our efforts over several years is turning the wheels. Australian Universities should now discover a new market in India.