Swarajya's video: FCRA Clearance Mandatory For Indian Institutes Tie-up with China s Confucius Institutes

The collaboration of Indian educational institutes with China’s Confucius Institutes will now require Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act clearance, a decision that comes two years after the government reportedly undertook a review of such tie-ups, India has said. The University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) conveyed the decision of the Centre to the heads of colleges and universities on April 5 through a circular marked “confidential”. “Any collaboration with any NGO/Foundation is subject to Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA). Hence, all Universities/Institutions having collaboration with Confucius Institutes/Hanban/CLEC or planning to collaborate to set up Confucius Institutes (CIs) or any other joint venture in any other name will be required to seek prior clearance under FCRA,” reads the communication. The UGC and the AICTE circular informed these colleges and universities that the control and operation of the Confucius Institutes now rest with the Centre for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC) in China. Earlier, they came under the Hanban, which is China’s National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (NOCFL). CLEC, affiliated with China’s Ministry of Education, is registered as a non-profit professional educational institution for international Chinese language education, the circular adds. ConfuciusInstitute Subscribe to Swarajya on YouTube. Get a Swarajya subscription: https://subscriptions.swarajyamag.com/join-us Website: https://swarajyamag.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/SwarajyaMag Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swarajyamag