The University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have asked Indian students not to pursue higher education in Pakistani institutions.
In a joint notification issued on Friday the UGC and AICTE said that students pursuing higher education in Pakistan will not be eligible for employment or further studies in India as the degrees there are not recognised.
"All concerned are advised not to travel to Pakistan for pursuing higher education.?Any Indian national or Overseas Citizen of India who intends to take admission to any degree college or educational institution of Pakistan shall not be eligible for seeking employment or higher studies in India on the basis of such educational qualification (in any subject) acquired in Pakistan," the advisory read.
The degrees of Pakistani nationals who migrated to India will be exempted from this after obtaining clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
"However, migrants and their children who have acquired higher education degrees in Pakistan and have been awarded citizenship by India would be eligible for seeking employment in India after obtaining security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs," it added.
Earlier, the UGC had issued an advisory in 2019 against studying in institutes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Recently, the higher education regulator had warned Indian students planning to pursue higher studies in China, saying it does not recognise "degree courses done only in online mode without prior approval".
The advisory against travelling to China for education came after the Chinese government suspended all visas since November 2020 because of COVID-19.
Every year millions of Indian students pursue higher education in professional and non-professional courses in educational institutions across the world.
However, in recent years, the dream of thousands of Indian students to study abroad have suffered major setbacks.
In early 2020, following the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China, thousands of Indian students who were pursuing medical courses there were forced to leave the country.
Earlier this year, thousands of Indian students in Canada were left stranded after three colleges there abruptly shut down.
Thousands of Indian students, mostly those pursuing medical courses were also caught up in the war in Ukraine, and were later evacuated to safety.
Though they have been brought back to their homeland, the students are facing an uncertain future as the war is still on going.
They have been demanding that they should be allowed to continue their education in colleges in India.
According to AICTE Chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe, Indian students need to be advised to which institutions and countries they should travel for education so that they don't land up with a degree without parity with Indian regulations.
Echoing his thoughts, UGC Chairman Jagadesh Kumar said, "UGC and AICTE issue such public notices in the interest of Indian students who would like to pursue higher studies outside the country."
"In the recent past, we have seen how our students had to face difficulties because they could not go back to the foreign countries to continue their studies," he said.
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