Committee bats for framework to assess private varsities

Develop framework for state level assessment of the private universities, the Advisory Committee of HP Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission has suggested.
The assessment should consider the different academic parameters and processes such as admission intake criteria, teaching and learning, staff development, examination and evaluation system, research and governance, the Committee said.
The Advisory Committee which held its first meeting here today stressed the need for Commission to start disseminating critical information on academic parameters of various institutions relevant from the point of view of quality of education for students, parents and general public.
The Chairperson of the Committee Sarojini Ganju Thakur presented an overview of the activities being performed by the Commission as per entrusted mandate, besides, issues arising as a result of enforcement of regulatory norms.

Observing that the Central Regulatory bodies have a limited outreach and control over implementation of norms in early stages of establishment of private higher educational institutions, especially universities, the Committee emphasized the critical role of State Level Regulator not only for adherence to national regulatory framework but also facilitate creation of learner centric environment conducive for quality education and maintenance thereof.
The Committee appreciated the Commission's efforts for making its presence felt in effective regulations, which is visible from the improvements that have taken place in standards of private higher education in Himachal especially as compared to other neighboring States.

The meeting was attended by prominent academicians Prof Furqan Qamar, Secretary General (Association of Indian Universities); Prof Chetan Singh, Director (Indian Institute of Advanced Study); Prof R L Sharma, Vice Chancellor (HP Technical University); Prof P K Ahluwalia (HP University) and Sunil Sharma, Member (HPPERC).