Government Policies

KEY POINTS

·         HECI is being proposed to replace UGC to oversee higher education institutions.

·         But there is a palpable apprehension that HECI would micromanage universities, enhance government interference and stifle campus freedoms.

Issues with the draft bill

·         Structure - The government has vouched that it intends to minimise its interference in higher education through the new HECI bill.

·         But the provisions that are mentioned in the draft bill seem to indicate exactly the opposite, as they are likely to enhance government’s role.

·         Autonomy - Sweeping powers proposed for HECI and envisioned provisions for implementing its dictates are likely to make it very authoritative.

·         Under the offered new terms, universities will have to take the concurrence of the HECI before offering a course, which enhances bureaucracy.

·         This also restricts the freedom of a university’s “Board of Studies” and is a case of academic functions being usurped through this legislation.

·         Appointments - The draft bill mentions that HECI’s chairperson and vice-chairperson can be removed by the government for “immoral conduct”.

·         As “immoral conduct” can only be vaguely defined, this provision gives scope for the union government to curtail the functionality of HECI officials. 

·         Micromanaging - HECI has been constituted to improve academic standards with a specific focus on enhancing learning outcomes.

·         This, in addition to its touted role in evaluating the academic performance of institutions and training of teachers, is likely to lead to over-regulation.

·         Centralisation - The bill also has implications for federalism as it would inherently restrict the role of states in matters relating to higher education.

                     Please Review 

Every action have its own negative as well as positive result as in this case UGC is supposed to get replaced by Higher Education commission which is good as change is the need of time ,we must accept ot welcome change but change must bring innovative ideas and more pragmatic approach should must be there.

       Till now UGC is  controlling functions of all the Indian universities and regulating them but what we need today is more than a regulator that means a body which also listen to others.where students can make their genuine academic demands and can ask questions for irregularities . 

         It is really sad to say that our universities have lot of good ideas but lack of innovation prevails there,we have giant infrastructure but we lack in well equipped lab and research work.Our education system is running behind marks based on theories but we never dare to think beyond theories and to research cause we can easily pass our higher education exams based on theories .

  As government proposal to establish a new body Higher Education Commission can bring lot of change in our Higher education goals and It is the demand of present time to overhaul the older system and one can easily say that there is not any political game but only genuine understanding what an Indian needs so Government decision is very well for our Higher education and no one can steal autonomy of an Institution cause it may be posssible that after change of regulator funds  may grow or get slow but the autonomy to teach well,right,genuine can't be stolen so the honest Institutions will enjoy more autonomy in future .