Source: University World News
The UGC of India has set a target to increase the gross enrolment ratio in higher education to 30% by 2020.
university grants commission
Regulator to Review Quality of PhD Theses Over 10 Years
Source: University World News
The University Grants Commission has launched a review of PhD theses in Indian universities over the last 10 years, amid concerns that doctoral degrees are being granted to candidates whose theses lack originality and quality.
University Body Defers Decision On Institutes Of Eminence
Source: University World News
The UGC has deferred their decision as more names have been recommended than the government allowed for.
Revamp of University Regulatory Body Faces Opposition
The Indian government’s move to replace the University Grants Commission, with a new body to allow institutions more autonomy faces opposition in parliament.
India Moves to Open up International Collaboration for Universities
Source: ICEF Monitor
India’s University Grants Commission (UGC) announced new regulations on 22 June 2016, since formally published on 13 July 2016, that aim to open up additional links between Indian and foreign universities with the goal to “offer students additional choices, improve curriculum and the delivery of knowledge and educational content.” Under the new regulations, Indian universities will now be permitted to apply to the UGC to establish partnerships with foreign institutions. This is a departure from previous guidelines, issued in 2012, under which only foreign universities could initiate such agreements – an opportunity that has not been taken up by a single foreign institution in the years since. The lack of activity in this area may reflect confusion or uncertainty on the part of foreign partners as to how to navigate the complex Indian bureaucracy, and the new regulations appear to be an attempt to provide Indian institutions with a clear process for building such international links.
For the full article, please visit ICEF Monitor.
Indian Colleges Can Get Foreign Tie-ups but Must Send Students Abroad
Source: Hindustan Times
Indian universities and colleges will be allowed to collaborate with foreign institutions but they must let students study abroad for at least one semester of their postgraduate course and two semesters for an undergraduate degree.
These are part of changed guidelines of the University Grants Commission (UGC), which are viewed as the government’s push to broaden the scope and quality of education in the country as well as encourage healthy competition.
Union human resource development minister Smriti Irani announced on Wednesday the changes made by the country’s higher education regulator.
“This step has been taken … to increase synergy between Indian and foreign academic institutions to offer students additional choices, improve curriculum and the delivery of knowledge and educational content,” she said.
The degree from such a twinning arrangement will be issued by the Indian institution but the certificate will mention the name of the foreign institute, Irani said. A joint degree is still not permitted in India.
Previous rules barred Indian institutions from directly applying for a tie-up with a foreign university. But foreign institutes from abroad could seek permission from the UGC for academic collaborations.
The rule fell flat as no foreign institute ever approached the UGC for such tie-ups. Also, there was no provision for students to study abroad for a few semesters.
For the full article, visit the Hindustan Times.
Indian Higher Ed Commission Releases List of Fake Universities
Source: Times of India via Academica
The University Grants Commission (UGC), the regulatory body for higher education in India, has published a list of 21 “fake” universities operating in that country. Indian law prohibits any institution from describing itself as a “university” without obtaining the proper government permission. Eight of the 21 “universities” are in Uttar Pradesh, with a further six in Delhi. While the UGC’s decree prohibits these institutions from continuing to grant degrees, it is worth noting that many of the institutions on the new list were also on an earlier list.
Ved Prakash appointed as UGC Chairman
Source: Deccan Herald via PwC – EdLive
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has finally appointed Ved Prakash as the Chairman. The post was lying vacant for nearly last two years. His appointment has been cleared by the Cabinet’s Appointment Committee on the recommendation of the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry. The Ministry had set up a selection-cum-search committee to recommend names for the post of the higher education regulator. The panel shortlisted 20 candidates; besides Prakash, it recommended the names of Chief Statistician, T C A Anant and S Parasuraman, Chief, Tata Institute of Social Sciences for the top post.
Prakash, a recipient of the US Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship, has held a number of important positions in national and international organisations and has been the acting chairman of UGC for over 23 months.
UGC’s scheme to promote innovative learning
Source: The Times of India via PwC – EdLive
The UGC has invited proposals from universities to introduce a scheme, ‘Innovation Universities’. Financial support will be given to universities during the XIIth plan for innovative teaching, innovative research programmes and organisational innovations. Only universities which have received Grade ‘A’ by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) can apply. The basic objective is to promote innovative ways of learning, sharing and collectively growing within and without. The scheme is meant to support bold and big ideas that require substantial support and flexibility, ideas that usually do not fit into any of the existing patterns of funding and do not see the light of the day. The proposed scheme does not cover up gradation of the overall infrastructure of the university, creation of new departments and centres in the established disciplines or those covered by existing schemes such as areas and women studies, routine improvements in teaching, teachers training and updating of curricula and supporting professional associations and bodies of researchers and regular implementation of the UGC regulations and guidelines about quality improvement and assessment.
Bring government universities under new regulations
Source: The Indian Express via PwC – EdLive
Academics have expressed reservations over the special exemptions granted to government-run institutions in the new regulations released by the University Grants Commission (UGC) with regard to collaborations with foreign universities. The UGC recently approved regulations through which foreign universities could venture into India and collaborate with Indian institutions. While this was widely seen as a backdoor measure, given the fact that opposition pressure in Parliament had kept the Foreign Universities Bill out of light, the governing body provided wide-ranging prescriptions for such partnerships. According to the regulations, only institutions with an ‘A’ rating from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) would be eligible for such an agreement. The institutions must also have at least five years of experience in providing post- graduate courses. However, government- run institutions, both at the state and central levels, have been exempted from both these clauses.
Chairman of the Board of Governors at IIT-Kanpur, M Anandakrishnan, said that the regulations, which were yet to be notified, would ensure that only respectable institutions could get into such collaborations. However, he opined that the clause exempting the government-run institutions from such minimum qualification, such as NAAC accreditation, should be dropped. “There is still scope for change as the norms are yet to be notified. Government institutions should not be excluded from such quality norms,” he pointed out.