Undergraduate education should be under Centre: Ex-UGC chief

Former UGC chairman Arun Nigavekar today strongly favoured bringing undergraduate-level education exclusively under the domain of the central government and said the present dispensation has the opportunity and absolute power to take such a proactive approach.
"...If we talk about 'knowledge linked economy' it would be pragmatic and positive strategy to put +3 educations exclusively in the domain of the central government," he said, delivering the 20th Prof. G Ram Reddy Memorial Lecture in IGNOU.
He said the new government has the opportunity and absolute power to take a proactive approach.
Since the development fund to all affiliated colleges and universities come from the HRD Ministry and UGC, making the +3 domain as a non-concurrent entity would bring about a "miraculous change" in a country, he said.

With this initiative, the country would have uniformity in structures.
In the primary, secondary and higher secondary sphere, he said each state should have the liberty to decide and implement policies that they deem best.
Further, talking about the need for bringing radical changes in the education system, he said that should be a debate whether it is essential to "continue with the 10+2+3 pattern that we adopted decades ago".
The central government should bring all chief ministers, education ministers and bureaucrats to a single table and discuss with them such fundamental issues, he said.