Cooperation of higher education between India and China

Background- The paper studies the cooperation between India and China on Higher Education System. Both Countries signed Education Exchange Programme (EEP) in 2006 which is an umbrella agreement for educational cooperation between them. Under this agreement, government scholarships are awarded to 25 students, by both sides, in recognized institutions of higher learning in each other's country. There are 25 scholarships awarded by India and sponsored by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). During the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to China, both the countries have signed fresh Education Exchange Programme (EEP) on May 15, 2015. The same provides for enhanced cooperation between institutions in the field of vocational education; collaboration between Institutes of higher learning, etc. 25 Chinese students have been selected to join Hindi language course for the academic year 201718 under EEP scholarship awarded by ICCR. Apart from this, Chinese students are also annually awarded scholarships to study Hindi at the Kendriya Hindi Sansthan, Agra to learn Hindi. There are 5 Chinese students who have been selected to study in Agra under this scheme in 2017–18. Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Human Resource Development, attended BRICS Ministers of Education on 5th July, 2017 at Beijing, China and he told that the creation of institutional mechanism in the form of BRICS Network University and BRICS Think Tank Council. There are 12 universities from each of the 5 countries engage with each other in education research and innovation which is another commendable initiative at BRICS Network

University. Five areas of cooperation are prioritised which are Communication and IT, Economics, Climate Change, Water Resources and Pollution, and BRICS study. India will participate whole-heartedly in all these cooperative efforts. The objective of the study discusses the higher education system between India and China in relation to soft power. Methodology tries to reach at the specific area through the secondary sources of data. Conclusion -The cooperation in the education sector between both sides have resulted in an increase in the number of Indian students in China. The Academic Year 2016–17 there were 18171 Indian students studying in various universities in China. Thus, the relationships between two countries are gradually increasing to keep in eye of higher education.