Cabinet likely to take up NCHER issue tomorrow

A crucial legislation seeking to establish a National Commission for Higher Education and Research and the standing committee recommendation on it are likely to be taken up for consideration by the Union Cabinet tomorrow.
The Higher Education and Research Bill was introduced during the UPA regime in 2011 in Rajya Sabha to promote autonomy and growth of the higher education sector with the establishment of NCHER.
The bill, however, could not be passed in the Upper House as there was lack of consensus among political parties on its various provisions.
Since then, it has been put aside for passage of other crucial bills on reforms in higher education.

But a new attempt seems to be in the offing by the Narendra Modi government to revive the legislation, with the Cabinet taking it up for consideration.
While the bill sought to set up NCHER subsuming existing higher education regulatory bodies such as UGC and AICTE and NCTE, the standing committee on HRD objected to it in its report submitted in 2012.

It had recommended that NCHER's role should be that of a facilitator and coordinator giving directions in which higher education should be steered.
It said UGC, AICTE and NCTE should be allowed to function under the overall supervision of NCHER.

Officials said a number of recommendations of standing committee has been accepted by the government.
The standing committee had recommended that the provisions that affect the autonomy of higher educational institutions should be reviewed and modified.
It had advised that universities should continue to have the power to enrol students for a new course or programme and had also said that that all members of NCHER should be full-time members.
The previous government had also decided to keep the regulatory body governing medical education out of its purview following stiff opposition from the medical fraternity.