The UK and India signed an agreement on 21 July 2022 to officially recognise each other’s higher education qualifications.

It fulfils an important milestone set out in the 2030 India-UK Roadmap.  It also realises the ambitious vision of the India’s National Education Policy to internationalise education and to create globally employable graduates.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on mutual recognition of academic qualifications will expand cooperation and exchange between the two countries’ higher education systems, and boost opportunities for students in India and the UK.

Under this agreement, A-levels and their equivalents, undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, including bachelors, masters and doctoral qualifications will now be seamlessly recognised by institutions across both countries.  This means, for example, Indian upper secondary qualifications will be recognised as meeting entry requirements of higher education institutions in the UK. UK master’s degree will also now be formally recognised in India enabling Indian graduates to apply for post-doctoral qualifications when they return home; something they were not able to do earlier.  

Today’s development will also open doors for institutions to create courses that can be delivered in both countries.

Important points to note:  

• Professional degrees in the fields of Engineering, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Law, and Architecture are out of scope of this MoU.
• Qualifications agreed under this MoU which are awarded by branch campuses will be recognised, and those awarded through other transnational education arrangements will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
• Qualifications in the scope of this MoU, which are delivered partially online and those delivered online due to force majeure will be recognised provided the awarding institution has the right to operate in the country where it is based and is quality assured. Qualifications intended to be delivered fully online will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
• This MoU will come into effect on the date of its signing.

A joint task force comprising the various higher education sector organisation and their counterparts on both Indian and UK sides and led by the British Council was responsible for all the spadework in making of this agreement.

The UK and India are already major destinations for each other’s students.  In 2020/2021, the UK welcomed 84,555 Indian students to the UK and India is one of the top destinations for UK students to study abroad. We expect this to allow for more exchange of knowledge and ideas between institutions and mobility of students between the two countries.

Indian government’s official press release can be found here, and the details of the agreement are available at this link.

If you have any questions, please write to Sandeepa Sahay