Centre seeks UGC's views on higher education authority

The central government has sought views from state governments, University Grants Commission (UGC) and other statutory councils on the recommendations of the Yash Pal Committee’s report on ‘Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education’.

The report proposes to set up a National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER). Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, while answering a query in the Lok Sabha, said the government had already written to these stakeholders before undertaking any structural and organisational changes in the higher and technical education in the country.

The NCHER will be an overarching agency that would subsume regulatory bodies like the UGC, AICTE, among others.

To another question relating to the Yash Pal Committee, Sibal said that Professor Kaushik Basu, a member of the committee, had given a note of dissent by saying that private sector money should be allowed in higher education. Basu had also said differential pay should be allowed in institutions. “The committee has responded to the issues raised by him,” said Sibal.

Sibal also told the lower House that the government had launched a scheme — Jan Shikshan Sansthans (JSSs) — to provide vocational training to non-literate, neo-literate people as well as school dropouts by identifying skills that have a market in their region.

At present, 221 JSSs are functioning in the country and the government has issued sanction orders to set up 50 more JSSs.

The HRD ministry has also received proposals from Madhya Pradesh for establishing polytechnics in 21 districts, one State Institute of Educational Management and Training (SIEMAT), among others.