Aim higher: Replacing UGC is just the starting point

The propensity for such interference remains high since the financial dispensation will, under the new scheme, be directly under government control

The government’s proposal to replace the University Grants Commission (UGC) with a Higher Education Commission indicates a realistic appraisal of the grossly inadequate regulatory structure for higher education that has resulted in a visible deterioration in standards. This draft legislation appears to be part of a stated overarching strategy towards greater autonomy in institutes of higher learning, including the premier Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management. It is also of a piece with the proposal in March this year to grant some sort of conditional autonomy to 52 universities and eight colleges. The broad thrust of the