Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) is proved to be a real game changer for higher education in the country. Critically examine its objectives, working process and successes it achieves.
Refer – The Hindu
IAS Parliament 7 years
KEY POINTS
RUSA
· RashtriyaUchchatarShikshaAbhiyan is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched in 2013 aims to increase enrolment in higher education by 30%.
· It primarily provides strategic funding to eligible State higher educational institutions.
Objectives
· Improve the overall quality of state institutions by ensuring conformity to prescribed norms and standards.
· Usher transformative reforms in the state higher education system by creating a facilitating institutional structure for planning and monitoring at the state level.
· Ensure adequate availability of quality faculty in all higher educational institutions and ensure capacity building at all levels of employment.
· Expand the institutional base by creating additional capacity in existing institutions and establishing new institutions, in order to achieve enrolment targets.
· Correct regional imbalances in access to higher education by setting up institutions in unserved& underserved areas.
· Improve equity in higher education by providing adequate opportunities.
Working process
· The scheme is largely based on the conditional release of funds linked to reforms in the key areas of governance, learning-teaching outcomes, reaching out to the unreached and infrastructure support.
· Unlike other schemes which are foisted on State governments in a one-size-fits all manner, under RUSA, States and institutions have to give an undertaking expressing their willingness to the idea of reform and agreeing to meet the States’ share of the cost.
· RUSA is a process-driven scheme. Its design and conceptualisation were finalised through extensive consultations with all key stakeholders, especially State governments.
· Preparatory grants were released to States to have the required systems, processes, and the technical support in place.
Successes it achieves
· Despite being voluntary, all States except a Union Territory (Lakshadweep) are a part of RUSA.
· Over the years, the RUSA's resource allocation has increased.The funding linked to reforms has had a visible impact on higher education.
· There is improvement in gross enrolment ratio (GER), addressing faculty vacancies, teacher-student ratio, etc.
· There has also been an improvement in the number of institutions accredited and their scores.
· Given the significance of RUSA in higher education, its further success lie in the impartial administration of the scheme by MHRD.
