Events
& Issues
New Delhi, 18 July 2018
HECI Bill
BETTER HIGHER EDUCATION?
By Dhurjati Mukherjee
There is much debate regarding
improving higher education in the country. Academic scholars and educationists have
expressed concern about standards and seek a change. There is no doubt that
there is a definite need for transformation in our learning system -- not just
of the chosen few IITs and IIMs or universities but also institutions of higher
learning situated in rural and backward districts.
There have also been
discussions in changing the syllabus of various subjects to make it more
practical and relevant to developments that have taken place in recent years. While
various institutions have initiated the process, others have already brought in
significant changes to improve the quality of learning. Autonomy of
universities has been another major demand and some headway has already been
made in the Central universities though State universities still retain full
control.
Further, the quest
for a better education system is necessary in view of India’s stature and
position in world. Presently, the country’s position is quite dismal not just in
the global arena but among Asian countries too. Thus, the debate is, no doubt,
quite justified as we shouldn’t miss the bus and instead must perform like countries
such as China or Singapore.
Keeping all this in mind,
the Centre has proposed the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Act, which
will repeal the University Grants Commission Act of 1956. Although several
government committees advocated replacing the UGC with a new regulator, the
sudden action by the government has prompted a section of teachers to express scepticism.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Central University Teachers Association (FedCUTA)
fears dilution of autonomy, which may not exactly happen.
It is understood that
the HECI will get powers for quality control as well as monitoring and has the
potential to ensure better standards of higher education. However, it will not
have the responsibility of giving grants, which will be disbursed by the Human Resource
Development Ministry, and thus shall serve only as the academic regulator. The
HECI bill proposes to make all universities seek permission from the Commission
to start new courses.
Under the proposed
law, before offering any course, the universities would need to seek permission.
The existing universities will have to do the same after three years of the
HECI coming into force. Moreover, HECI will have the power to revoke authorisation
of an institution, if adverse reports are received. The sharp focus on
accreditation and yearly evaluation of higher educational institutions is
expected to improve the education sector and ensure much-needed quality.
Notwithstanding criticism,
which normally does happen when something new comes into force, there are
expectations that in the realm of regulating courses, approving new courses and
syllabus, closing down of non-performing higher education institutions, if
necessary, etc. and even specifying eligibility conditions to administrative
and leadership positions in institutions, improvements are likely to take shape
in the coming years. These are truly desirable departures from the existing
regulatory framework of higher education, bringing it closer to global best
practices.
At the same time,
what requires mention here is that the new HECI should be free from political
control and the 14-member body and should act like a truly professional body. Remember
the AICTE chief recently blamed, and quite rightly, the poor leadership and
wrong selection of Vice Chancellors due to their political affiliation without
weighing merit for the not-so-happy performance of old universities of
Calcutta, Bombay and Madras.
Gradually the HECI
should also be given more responsibility for the accreditation aspect. As too
many institutions in the domain of higher education may not be quite
favourable, it should also be given the task of recommending grants to the HRD Ministry.
The responsibility of vesting such work to another independent body may
complicate matters and dilute the importance of HECI.
Another aspect which needs
serious consideration is the government’s resolve to grant autonomy which must
not be hindered. As is quite evident, professional and intellectual freedom of
some of the leading scholars has been limited. The HECI should not come in the
way of allowing scholars to use their specialised expertise to create new
degree programmes that respond to changes in science and technology and lead developments
in their disciplines. It shall also allow them to discern and shape
inter-disciplinary studies in the country such as bio-informatics, marine
engineering, marine population, nanotechnology and even environmental science
or environmental management, which did not exist two or three decades ago.
Importantly, the
recent decision to give academic autonomy to some select universities is
undoubtedly a welcome development. However, there is possibly a need to extend
such autonomy to a larger number of universities whose performance improves
over a period of time to help them update their courses and standards in the
coming years.
A vital aspect i.e.
of research is unfortunately not quite explicit in the HECI Bill. Whether the
proposed body will examine this or whether another national research foundation
would be set up remains to be seen. However, several bodies may not be welcome
as most experts believe that the whole spectrum of higher education should be
bestowed on a single competent body, free from any type of political
interference.
It goes without saying
that there is need to give priority to research in science and technology as
the country’s contribution was a mere 3.5 to 3.7 per cent of scientific
publications in the world in the past few years, way behind China, which had an
impressive 21 per cent. The quality of teaching as also poor research output at
Indian institutions appears to have contributed to poor university rankings by
international agencies
.
The new Bill is
expected to help in upgrading institutions of higher learning in the top 150-
200 range in international rankings. The universities of Delhi, Bombay,
Calcutta and Pune were much below-- in the 800 range. And it comes as no
surprise that dozens of universities in countries such as China, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Thailand and South Africa fared far better than India.
Finally, it is
necessary for the government to allocate more funds for the expansion of higher
education so that the country can offer specialised technical knowledge and
make a mark in the international arena. One may refer to the recommendations of
the high level committee headed by Prof. Yash Pal way back in 2009. Among others,
it called for increased funding for higher education and stricter regulation
and monitoring of private entities. Time these are implemented at the earliest.---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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