Notes: Evolution of Higher learning & Research- 2 | Higher Education System for UGC NET PDF Download

Structure of Higher Education in India

India possesses one of the largest higher education systems globally.

The structure of institutions for higher learning and research in India can be divided into the following categories:

1. University Grants Commission (UGC)

Establishment: The UGC came into existence on December 28, 1953 and became a statutory organization of the Government of India through an Act of Parliament in 1956.

Functions:

• Coordination: It discharges the constitutional mandate of coordination, determination, and maintenance of standards of teaching, examination, and research in university education.
• Grant Release: It oversees the release of grants.
• Government Link: It acts as a vital link between the Union and State Governments and institutions of higher learning.
• Monitoring: It monitors developments in college and university education.
• Advisory Role: It advises the Central and State Governments on necessary measures for improving university education.
• Regulations: It frames regulations on the minimum standards of education.

Structure of UGC:

• Staff Appointment: The UGC has the right to appoint its own staff subject to rules made by the Central Government.
• Composition: The commission consists of a chairman, vice chairman, and 10 other members. The chairman's term is up to 5 years or until they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. The vice chairman’s term is 3 years.
• Government Officers: The commission includes two officers of the Central Government: the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Finance.
• Members: It also includes three working university professors and other members selected from fields like agriculture, technology, science, industry, and engineering.
• Regional Offices: UGC has six regional offices located in Bengaluru, Bhopal, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Pune. The head office is in New Delhi.
• First Chairman: Dr. C.D. Deshmukh was the first chairman of the UGC statutory body from 1956 to 1961.

2. Inter University Centres (IUCs)

• Establishment: The UGC establishes autonomous Inter University Centres within the university system under Clause 12(CCC) of the UGC Act.
• Purpose: It provides common advanced centralized facilities/services for universities that cannot invest in infrastructure and other inputs. It also offers the best expertise in each field to teachers and resources across the country.
• Examples:
  • Inter University Accelerator Centre (IUAC), New Delhi: The first research center established in 1994.
  • Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune.
  • UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research (UGC-DAECSR), Indore.
  • Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET), Ahmedabad.
  • Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC), New Delhi.
  • National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Bangalore.

3. University Level Institutions (ULI)

Universities in India are classified into several categories:

(i) Central Universities

• Establishment: These universities are established by an Act of Parliament and fall under the purview of the Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
• Regulation: They are covered by the Central Universities Act, 2009, which regulates their purpose, powers, and governance.
• List: As of now, there are 53 central universities, including Rajiv Gandhi University (Itanagar), Assam University (Silchar), Tezpur University (Tezpur), and Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi).

(ii) State Universities

• Establishment: These universities are established by an Act of a State Legislature and are funded by the State Government.
• UGC Grants: Following the 42nd Constitutional Amendment in 1976, state universities became eligible for UGC grants.
• Number: As of December 20, 2018, there are 412 state universities, with 242 fit to receive Central/UGC assistance.

(iii) Deemed Universities

• Definition: Institutions of Higher Education declared as Deemed Universities by the Central Government on the recommendation of UGC due to their high standards in specific areas of study.
• Autonomy: These universities enjoy full autonomy regarding courses, syllabus, admissions, and fees but cannot affiliate colleges.
• Examples: Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Delhi were the first to be granted deemed status in 1958. Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) was the first private institution to receive this status in 1993.

(iv) Private Universities

• Establishment: Established by a state or central act, they are sponsored by a registered company, trust, or society.
• Regulation: Governed by the UGC regulations of 2003, private universities can award degrees, frame syllabi, and conduct admissions.
• Number: There are 356 recognized private universities, with Sikkim Manipal University, established in 1995, being the oldest.

(v) Language Universities

• Purpose: These universities focus on promoting specific languages.
• Examples: There are six such universities, including Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth (New Delhi) and Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya (Wardha).

4. Association of Indian Universities (AIU)

• Role: The AIU serves as a forum for universities to exchange ideas and address common concerns.
• History: Founded in 1924 as the Inter-University Board of India, it was renamed AIU in 1973.
• Functions: Acts as an inter-university organization, a bureau of information, and a facilitator for maintaining university autonomy. It also publishes the Universities Handbook.

5. Institutions of National Importance (INI)

• Status: Conferred to premier public higher educational institutions by an Act of Parliament.
• Role: Develops highly skilled personnel within specific regions and receives special recognition and funding from the Government of India.
• Examples: Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, IITs, IIMs, and AIIMS.

6. All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)

• Establishment: Initially set up in November 1945 as an advisory body, it became a statutory body in 1987.
• Role: Responsible for the planning and coordinated development of technical and management education.
• Structure: Assisted by 10 Statutory Boards of Studies, it has headquarters in New Delhi and regional offices in Kanpur, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bhopal, Baroda, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Thiruvananthapuram.

7. Council of Architecture (CoA)

• Establishment: Constituted under the Architects Act of 1972.
• Role: Regulates the education and practice of architecture in India, including the registration of architects and maintaining standards of practice.

National Institute of Education Planning and Administration (NIEPA)

• Renamed: Now known as the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA).
• Establishment: Set up by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, it emphasizes planning, management, and capacity building in educational policy through research, training, consultancy, and dissemination.

8. Famous Research Councils

• Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR): Coordinates and manages agricultural research and education.
• Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR): Promotes social science research.
• Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR): Encourages scientific historical research.
• Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR): Promotes research in philosophy.
• Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy, and Culture (PHISPC): Studies interconnections between science, philosophy, and culture.
• National Council of Rural Institutes (NCRI): Promotes rural higher education.

The information provided outlines the extensive structure and various bodies involved in higher education in India, emphasizing the importance of quality standards, accreditation, and schemes to enhance education access and quality.

Schemes or Programmes Related to Higher Education

The Government of India has launched several schemes and programmes to develop higher education in the country. Some of these are:

1. National Research Professorship, 1949 (NRP)

• Initiation: The Government of India initiated this scheme in 1949.
• Purpose: To honor distinguished academics and scholars in recognition of their contributions to knowledge.

2. Scheme of Integrating Persons with Disabilities in the Mainstream of Technical and Vocational Education, 1999-2000

• Target: Caters to around 50 polytechnics in the country.
• Aim: Provides grants-in-aid to facilitate greater integration of disabled individuals into higher education.

3. Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme, 2002 (TEQIP)

• Launch: Initiated by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) in 2002.
• Objective: To upscale and support the quality of technical education.
• Phases: Implemented in phases with the assistance of the World Bank. Phase-I and Phase-II have been completed, and Phase-III focuses on the upgradation of polytechnics.

4. National E-library, 2006

• Vision: An online portal to democratize access to knowledge.
• Content: Ensures that quality content from central universities and premier educational institutions is available in digital format, accessible by students, working professionals, and researchers across the country.

5. Rashtriya Uchchtar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), 2013

• Nature: A centrally sponsored scheme.
• Objective: To raise the standards of state universities and their affiliated colleges.
• Funding: Provides strategic funding based on norms and outcome dependency, with varying ratios for different states and Union Territories.
• Focus: Emphasizes improving the quality of teaching-learning processes to produce employable and competitive graduates, post-graduates, and Ph.Ds.

6. Scheme of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching (PMMM NMTT), 2014

• Purpose: To raise the quantity and quality of teaching staff across schools and colleges.
• Goal: To create better institutional frameworks for positive change.

7. Swami Vivekananda Scholarship for Single Girl Child, 2014

• Initiative: Launched by UGC.
• Aim: To support research in social sciences and compensate the direct costs of higher education for girls who are the only child in their families.

8. Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, 2014

• Objective: To connect institutes of higher education with local communities.
• Implementation: IITs, IISERs, NITs, etc., adopt villages and develop appropriate rural technologies for sustainable development through community participation.

9. Bachelor of Vocational Studies, 2014

• Initiative: Launched by UGC.
• Focus: Provides Bachelor degrees with multiple courses at Diploma/Advanced Diploma levels under the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF).
• Goal: Enhances youth employability and maintains competitiveness through multi-entry, multi-exit learning opportunities, and vertical mobility.

10. Study Webs of Active-learning for Young Aspiring Minds, 2014 (SWAYAM)

• Type: A Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) initiative.
• Scope: Offers a comprehensive academic structure with courses in engineering, humanities, social sciences, etc., accessible to learners nationwide.

11. National Quality Renaissance Initiative (NQRI), 2014

• Initiative: Launched by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
• Aim: To promote quality assurance in higher education institutions.

12. Ishan Uday, 2014

• Scholarship Scheme: For students from the North-East Region.
• Initiative: Launched by UGC.

13. Ishan Vikas, 2014

• Purpose: To provide academic exposure to North-East students.
• Plan: Brings selected college and school students in close contact with IITs, NITs, and IISERs during vacations for academic exposure.

14. Campus Connect, 2014

• Goal: To generate quality content and provide connectivity to institutes.
• Framework: Assessed under the National Mission on Education Through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT) Scheme.

15. Uchchtar Avishkar Yojana (UAY), 2015

• Launch: Initiated to promote industry-specific need-based research.
• Objective: To maintain the competitiveness of Indian industry in the global market.

16. Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN), 2015

• Purpose: To integrate the best international knowledge and experience into the country’s higher education system.
• Objective: Enables students and faculty to interact with top academic and industry experts worldwide.

17. Kaushal Kendras, 2015

• Initiative: A skill development scheme by the Government of India for recognition and standardization of skills.
• Scope: Establishes Kaushal Kendras to formulate courses at the postgraduate level, focusing on industry needs, instructional design, curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, trained faculty, and entrepreneurship.

18. IMPRINT Scheme, 2015

• Nature: MHRD-supported scheme.
• Objective: Addresses major science and engineering challenges and boosts original scientific research in ten identified technology domains.

19. Impactful Policy Research in Social Sciences (IMPRESS), 2018

• Launch: A web portal initiated in 2018.
• Scope: Awards 1500 research projects for two years to support social science research in higher educational institutions and guide policy-making.

20. Revitalising Infrastructure and System in Education (RISE), 2018

• Scheme: Announced in 2018.
• Goal: To lend low-cost funds to government higher educational institutions.
• Implementation: Central universities, IITs, IIMs, NITs, and IISERs can borrow from a ₹1,00,000 crore corpus over four years to build new infrastructure.

21. The Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF), 2018

• Initiation: Launched in 2018.
• Objective: To attract the country's talent pool to doctoral (Ph.D.) programmes at IITs and the Indian Institute of Science for research in cutting-edge science and technology domains with a focus on national priorities.
• Fellowship Amounts:
  • 1st Year: ₹70,000
  • 2nd Year: ₹70,000
  • 3rd Year: ₹75,000
  • 4th Year: ₹80,000
  • 5th Year: ₹80,000
  • Research Grant: Each fellowship is eligible for a research grant of ₹2 lakh per year.

Major Objectives

• Quality Improvement: Improve the overall quality of existing state institutions by ensuring conformity to prescribed norms and standards and adopting accreditation as a mandatory quality assurance framework.
• Academic and Examination Reforms: Ensure academic and examination reforms in higher educational institutions.
• Research Universities: Enable the conversion of some universities into research universities at par with the best in the world.
• Faculty Availability: Ensure adequate availability of quality faculty and capacity building at all levels of employment.
• Institutional Expansion: Expand the institutional base by creating additional capacity in existing institutions and establishing new institutions to achieve enrollment targets.
• Access for Rural Students: Create opportunities for students from rural areas to access better quality institutions by setting up institutions in unserved and underserved areas.

Accreditation of Higher Education Institutions