India planning to recognise UK 1-yr MA course

India and UK have finally agreed to find a mechanism to ensure that the one-year Masters programme offered in the UK gets equivalence in India. According to a joint statement both countries said a bridging mechanism would be introduced to enable the same.

Visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron also assured that Indian students are welcome in the UK. However, there are no relaxations yet on student visa rules that allow only highly skilled students to stay on to work in the UK at a reasonably high salary.

The joint statement said the Indian higher education regulators would explore the possibility of creating an enabling environment by introducing the necessary bridging mechanism through which Indian nationals holding a Master's from an accredited British University are able to pursue higher education or gain employment in India, after completing the necessary formalities of eligibility and equivalence.

While the one-year Master's offered by UK institutes has been increasingly attracting Indian students, the fact that it is not granted equivalence to the two-year Master's programme in India has affected the prospects of these students who may want to either pursue further education in India or take up jobs.

According to a proposal under consideration now, students with the one-year Master's from UK will be eligible for higher education in India upon completion of a one-year bridge course at an Indian university.

They will also be eligible to appear for the UGC's National Eligibility Test (NET) after the completion of the bridge course and can then take up teaching at Indian universities an colleges as assistant professors.