UGC to set up monitoring committee for deemed-to-be, private universities

NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission (UGC) will constitute a monitoring committee with representation of relevant regulators to address issues related to deemed-to-be universities and private universities. This was an important aspect of a discussion of the inter-regulatory authority meeting held by the commission on Tuesday.

Now, universities will also be given weightage for having facilities for persons with disabilities as per the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) guidelines in National Assessment and Accreditation Council’s (NAAC) evaluation and rating criteria.

During the meeting it was also decided that all the regulators will review faculty selection and promotion guidelines and align them with UGC regulations on faculty recruitment to avoid inconsistencies.

UGC chairman, M Jagadesh Kumar, said, “Institutions should be evolved to become centres of excellence and all regulatory authorities and councils must act as facilitators.”

There were discussions also on various aspects of online and distance learning. Kumar stressed on the effective use of technology in teaching-learning and moving beyond the traditional academic paradigms and include experiential and holistic learning.

“There is also a need to introduce a module on Indian Knowledge System (IKS) in all disciplines of the institutions. I request all the regulatory bodies to adopt NEP [National Education Policy 2020] recommendations to make graduates of higher education globally competent and future ready. This inter-regulatory meet marks a significant step towards making the Indian higher education system more inclusive, qualitative, and accessible for all,” said Kumar.

UGC decisions

These were some of the decisions taken at the meeting:

• The regulatory authorities will issue an advisory to the higher educational institutions under their domain to apply for recognition under Section 2(f) of the UGC Act, 1956 within a defined timeline.

• The regulatory authorities will encourage the participation of faculty members in faculty capacity-building programmes organised by the Malaviya Mission teacher training centres. The ministry has identified 111 such institutions as part of the mission.

• The regulatory authorities will write to the industrial organisations associated with them thereby requesting to nominate industry professionals to register on the Professor of Practice (PoP) portal of the commission.

• The regulatory authorities will issue an advisory to the institutions under their domain to provide information on the UGC Undertaking Transformative Strategies and Actions in Higher Education (UTSAH) portal detailing the initiatives being taken under National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

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UGC: Regulators meet

Heads of the 13 key regulatory, ranking and accreditation bodies across higher education were present at the meeting.

These were the regulators present:

• National Medical Council (NMC)
• National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM)
• Veterinary Council of India (VCI)
• All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)
• Pharmacy Council of India (PCI)
• Dental Council of India (DCI)
• Council of Architecture (COA)
• National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE)
• Indian Nursing Council (INC)
• Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
• Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI)
• Ministry of Ayush
• National Board of Accreditation (NBA)
• National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC)
• National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)

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While the UGC is the apex higher education regulator in the country, it doesn’t have full control over all branches of higher education. Professional education is largely managed by the respective professional bodies and technical education comes within the ambit of the AICTE. There have been numerous proposals over the years, including a key one in the NEP 2020, to roll them all into a single regulatory authority.