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New Delhi : In a landmark decision, a Higher Education Commission of India (Repeal of University Grants Commission Act) Bill 2018, which seeks to repeal  UGC Act and provides for setting up of Higher Education Commission of India, has been prepared by the Ministry of HRD and placed in public domain for comments and suggestions. The focus of Higher Education Commission of India will be on improving academic standards and the quality of Higher Education.

Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar has appealed to all educationists, stakeholders and general public to furnish comments and suggestions by July 7, 2018, till 5 pm on the draft Bill. The comments may be mailed to reformofugc@gmail.com.

The Central Government under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi has embarked on a process of reform of the regulatory agencies for better administration of the higher education sector. In fulfilment of the above, several reform measures have already been launched viz, reform of NAAC, Regulation for grant of Graded Autonomy to Universities, granting of Autonomous status to colleges, the Regulation for Open Distance Learning, Regulation for Online degrees etc, according to a PIB release.

The draft Act is in accordance with the commitment of Government for reforming the regulatory systems that provide for more autonomy and facilitate holistic growth of the education system which provides greater opportunities to the Indian students at more affordable cost.

The transformation of the regulatory set up is guided by the following principles : 1. Less Government and more Governance – Downsizing the scope of the Regulator. No more interference in the management issues of the educational institutions

2. Separation of grant functions – The grant functions would be carried out by the HRD Ministry, and the HECI would focus only on academic matters

3. End of Inspection Raj – Regulation is done through transparent public disclosures, merit-based decision making on matters regarding standards and quality in higher education

4. Focus on academic quality – HECI is tasked with the mandate of improving academic standards with specific focus on learning outcomes, evaluation of academic performance by institutions, mentoring of institutions, training of teachers, promote use of educational technology etc. It will develop norms for setting standards for opening and closure of institutions, provide for greater flexibility and autonomy to institutions, lay standards for appointments to critical leadership positions at the institutional level irrespective of University started under any Law (including State Law).

5. Powers to enforce :The Regulator will have powers to enforce compliance to the academic quality standards and will have the power to order closure of sub-standard and bogus institutions. Non-compliance could result in fines or jail sentence.

Highlights of the Higher Education Commission of India (Repeal of University Grants Commission Act) Bill 2018 – The focus of the Commission will be on improving academic standards and quality of higher education, specifying norms for learning outcomes, lay down standards of teaching/research etc – It will provide a roadmap for mentoring of institutions found failing in maintaining the required academic standards -the Commission shall have the power to grant authorization for starting of academic operations on the basis of their compliance with norms of academic quality –  It will also have the powers to revoke authorisation granted to a higher education institution where there is a case of wilful or continuous default in compliance with the norms / regulations- It will also have the power to recommend closure of institutions which fail to adhere to minimum standards without affecting students’ interest.

The constitution of the Commission is strengthened by the cooption of Chairpersons of regulatory bodies in higher education, namely the AICTE and the NCTE.

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