Hostel revamp for 20 colleges soon

NEW DELHI: At least 20 top educational institutions in the country will get state-of-the-art hostels to attract foreign students as part of the government’s ‘Study in India’ initiative, according to a government official.

The official called “a lack of suitable hostels, including those offering food choices”, a major hindrance in attracting foreign students. The foreign students look for such facilities, he added.

The Union human resource development (HRD) ministry is “aggressively wooing” foreign students as part of the initiative as the government wants to increase their number now to at least 0.2 million by 2023.

It recently got ~779 crore funds for the purpose. A substantial part of the grant would be utilised in creating ‘International Student Centres’ for superior accommodations and campuses for foreign students, the official said. The rest would be used to provide scholarships

“Foreign students prefer institutions with best quality hostel rooms, cultural and facilitation centres, international cuisine, self-cooking facilities, gyms etc. Providing such international standard facilities is very critical…,’’ the official said. “It is important as these students are expected to be the brand ambassadors for the country and its institutions once they go back.”

The government would initially support at least 20 leading institutions for developing the ‘International Student Centres’. These hostels would have plush 100 rooms each with attached bathrooms, other modern amenities, gyms as well an international cuisine and self-cooking facilities. Niti Aayog has finalised the guidelines for building these centres, the official said.

“We will develop them in partnership initially at 20 institutions, which will have to provide land. The government may provide a viability gap funding of up to ~10 crore. …institutions, which have around 100 international students and potential to attract many more, will be considered,” the official added.