Your higher education qualifications would now be recognised by the UK, and India would do the same to British qualifications, enabling a smoother movement of students between the two countries.
This had been made possible thanks to the UK-India Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP), a memorandum of understanding that was signed on Thursday.
ETP was agreed upon by former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Narendra Modi last year. This new agreement means that UK A-levels and their equivalents, undergraduate and postgraduate degrees would now be recognised in India.
It will also allow Indian students who graduate from British universities to apply for postgraduate qualifications or government jobs requiring university qualifications.
“This is a landmark, historic agreement, which has been many years in the making. Qualifications students receive will be recognised on both sides, making it easier for students to progress in education and move into jobs,” said Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK International (UUKi). The body represents over 140 UK universities.
According to official statistics, 84,555 Indian students went to the UK for higher studies in 2020-2021, making it one of the popular destinations for students in the South-Asian republic. This latest agreement is expected to make UK universities even more appealing to Indian applicants and is likely to provide an economic boost to the UK.
“We are delighted to deliver on our promise to unblock barriers to trade between the two nations and make UK higher education even easier to access and more appealing to Indian students,” said UK International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
“The pact is also seen as enhancing the potential for UK nationals to travel to India to study, allowing them more choice and broadening their academic and educational horizons, as well as opening the door for institutions to create courses that can be delivered in both countries,” said UK Education Secretary James Cleverly.
“This agreement builds on our UK-India partnership and removes barriers so even more of the best and brightest students from India can study here, boosting our economy and enriching our campuses and communities,” Cleverly said.
India and the UK signed two other agreements implementing the ETP. This included commitments to create a task force to provide opportunities for Indian nursing candidates to work in the National Health Service (NHS) and to renew a commitment for mutual recognition of the Seafarers’ Certificate of Competency.
Trade between the UK and India is worth over 24 billion pounds, and this investment relationship supports over half a million jobs, UK Department for International Trade (DIT) noted. The British government has secured new access under the ETP to India’s market, which businesses estimate will unlock approximately 92 million pounds of additional exports every year, it added.
With inputs from PTI
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