Deepali Nayar never faced the problem peculiar to others her age. Unlike ambivalent 17-year-olds, she was certain she wanted to be a graphic designer. But the hitch was there were few institutes in India offering the niche professional course. She could have opted to go abroad but the fees and living expenses were prohibitive. Then, at a presentation at the British Council in Delhi, she chanced upon a more viable option: a British degree in India.

Nayar, now 18, is pursuing her dream in a hi-tech design laboratory of Wigan and Leigh College's (WLC)-a UK institute-Delhi campus, one of the several the college has in five Indian cities.

Like Nayar, thousands of Indians have stumbled upon the concept of an "international degree" acquired on a home campus-a collaboration of an overseas university with an Indian partner. While the teaching is imparted in India, the selection procedure, curriculum and examinations are monitored by the foreign university which awards the degree.

"Increasingly people want to be a part of the 'global work pool' but not everyone can go to a foreign campus. So popular universities 'export' their education to meet overseas demand," says John Nance, head of education, British Council, India.

It began six years ago when an institute with seven campuses in the small English towns of Wigan and Leigh was brought to India by the entrepreneurial duo of S.R. Duggal and Vinay Pasricha. The two now run the India chapter as directors. The success of this vocational college with British standards-weekly assignments are examined by the parent college in the UK-has set the pace for more such ventures. Currently over 40 foreign institutes and universities offer degrees on campuses in India.

"What happened in the industry with the advent of liberalisation 10 years ago is now happening in education," says Rajiv Gupta, head of the India operations of Resource Development International, which facilitates strategic partnerships between colleges of Britain and India. "As a member of the World Trade Organisation, the globalisation of India's education sector is a must," he adds. "There is no harm in using global educational brands to gain acceptance for India-based degrees in the international market." Gupta cites the example of the newly formed Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, which has tied up with three internationally acclaimed management schools-Kellogg and Wharton in the US and the London School of Business, UK-and is already being seen as a potential rival to the IIMs.

Predictably, it is the private institutions in India that have begun such ventures as the tie-up with a university ensures that they can award degrees and makes them more viable. Besides, only private players can meet the huge costs of infrastructure required for overseas degrees, explaining the entry of large corporate houses.

In such a scenario, profit ceases to be a dirty word. "There is nothing unethical or dirty about making money from education," says Charu Bhartia Modi, who brought Western International University (WIU), Arizona, to India. "The best institutes abroad are privately funded and are very rich. That's how they maximise their contribution to education and provide the best facilities to their students," she says.

Most tie-ups are in the fields of management and software: NIIT has tied up with ITT Educational Services, USA, to offer software courses and Tata Infotech has a synergy with UK's Hertfordshire University. The Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad, will soon offer an MBA programme in conjunction with the Farliegh Dickinson University, USA. The sprawling campuses of the Rai Foundation offer diverse courses including management and media in collaboration with UK's Northumbria University and the Apollo Group of hospitals offers an international qualification in nursing and physical medicine.

Not everyone is impressed. Those who espouse the traditional Indian system feel dubious foreign universities may fleece gullible students-a fear perhaps stemming from the steep fee structure of such colleges (the average semester fee is Rs 40,000 compared to the nominal Rs 20 in Indian colleges). Says a high-ranking official in the Department of Education, Ministry of Human Resources: "Little-known foreign colleges which don't find enough students are exploiting the Indian fascination for western labels and corrupting the meritocracy we have cultivated here."

Nance counters this. "We are looking at a future in which all major colleges will have multiple campuses. I have an inquiry pending at this very minute from the London School of Economics, one of the world's best recognised names, which is looking for a partner in south Asia," he says.

Also allaying apprehensions of the credentials of foreign colleges is Vinay Rai, chairman of the Rai Foundation. "Parents and children do their homework on what the institute offers before applying," he says. Besides, an institute that "does not deliver what its prospectus or its publicity drive promises will die out," feels Sameer Dua, director of Pune-based Training and Advanced Studies in Management and Communication, which offers management degrees in collaboration with the University of Wales, UK.

As more and more Indian students wake up to the realities of the job market, paying for an international degree right here will continue to be seen as a fair deal. "I think I have made the right choice. I am getting the latest curriculum and training methods at a fraction of the cost of studying abroad," says Nayar. Her voice could soon become the roar of a crowd.