Foreign Universities in India

I was very happy to read the news a few weeks ago when the bill to allow foreign Universities to invest and open campuses in India was passed. It sounded like a great solution to the problem of lack of quality higher education in India. The government had a good argument that they don't have the infrastructure to support the current and a fast growing demand of education. 

I came across a news article about Left opposing the bill a few days later. My first reaction was "Why do they have to oppose everything that the government in power does?" But when I was done reading the article, I was really thinking hard and felt that some of the concerns raised by the Left parties seem to be valid. The most important one is that allowing foreign universities come in and setup their campuses will make the cost of education go up. Well, to some extent, that may be true. One reason I thought was that there is already a dearth of good teachers/instructors to teach in schools and colleges. If good colleges open their campuses or even tie up with Indian schools, they will need good teachers to maintain their image, brand and to provide the same level of education as they provide in their own countries. With a shortage of good teachers and a spurt in demand, schools will spend a lot of money to attract the best talent. Schools will definitely compete each other to attract those teachers and one of the ways would be the better salaries, and all these costs will be ultimately passed on to the students. I hope someone in the government is thinking about all such issues while implementing this law.