UK universities flock to India - but will they succeed?

On the shores of Mumbai’s Powai lake — a rare pocket of serenity in the bustling metropolis of more than 20 million people — a glitzy new campus of the University of York is getting its final finishing touches.The institute has begun recruiting students for the 2026-27 academic year, and operations are set to commence in the next few months."We’re looking at an intake of around 270 students in the first year… and that should go up to 3,000-4,000 students each year over the coming years,« Lindsay Oades, provost of the University of York in Mumbai, told the BBC.York is among nine UK universities that are setting up campuses in India following announcements last year during Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to the country. Others include the University of Aberdeen, University of Bristol, University of Liverpool, Queen’s University Belfast and Coventry University.The University of Southampton has already opened a campus in the capital Delhi and along with York, focuses primarily on business, management and engineering programmes.In 2020, India’s National Education Policy announced that foreign universities would be allowed in the country and rules were notified in 2023, creating a legal mechanism for these institutions to set up shop.Ostensibly, the proposition appears like a win-win for UK universities facing severe fiscal pressures at home, as well as for Indian students starved of quality education locally. However, expanding on the ground will be easier said than done.According to UK government’s figures, India has 40 million university students and would need at least 70 million places in the decade to 2035, opening up an incremental market opportunity of 25-30 million seats for British universities.Moreover there’s a clear supply gap in high-quality education."Eleven million students complete Grade 12 [final school year in India] each year, with roughly 1.5-1.7 million falling within the top academic bracket. India’s top-tier institutions admit only about 200,000 of them annually,« Aritra Ghosal of OneStep Global, which helps foreign universities enter the Indian market, told the BBC."From an affordability standpoint, an estimated four-five million students can realistically consider degree programmes priced above 10,000 £ per year,« said Ghosal.That’s essentially the aspirational upper middle class and not the mass market, but a large enough gap for British universities to exploit.According to Oades, fees at York’s Indian campus will be priced at around 50% of what it would cost to study at the university’s campus in the UK.While still much more expensive than many Indian private universities, there is a straight-up „quality justification“ for the premium, he says, adding that universities like York follow global standards and focus on the demand for employability skills and industry partnerships.The courses will also allow students to opt for hybrid learning between the Mumbai and York campuses, a model followed by other British universities as well.But will this be enough?For decades millions of Indian students have opted to study abroad, taking loans and using up family savings, mainly to migrate for better work opportunities.Mumbai-based Ankita Kejriwal, whose son Vivaan is hoping to study finance and economics in the US next year, says most of his friends and cousins are choosing to go abroad primarily for international work exposure."That is the main draw. They may choose to come back in a few years, but not without working there at least for a while,« says Kejriwal.An India-delivered UK degree will not be a substitute for these students. Tighter immigration rules, however, could encourage some to opt for the foreign university experience in India."For those seeking brand value with lower financial and visa exposure, it may be an efficient alternative«, says Ghosal.