Constitution of the National Commission for Higher Education and Research is in the pipeline as a single, all-encompassing higher education body; Inder Mohan Singh and Sadia Khan present an insight into the Bill …
Consequent efforts of the government to structure, streamline and regulate higher education, the education sector in India has witnessed a series of changes and developments in its regulatory regime. With the objective of achieving a greater coordination and integration of the higher education system and to create an umbrella structure to regulate educational institutions, the government has introduced a new bill, ‘The National Commission for Higher Education and Research Bill 2010’ (the Bill). The Bill presently awaits cabinet approval pursuant to which it shall be introduced in the Parliament.
Under the extant regime, educational institutions in India are governed mainly by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) with other allied bodies. Recommendations from time to time have been made for the creation of a single independent autonomous body to regulate higher education in India. Kothari panel for the first time made such recommendation in 1964, which was subsequently reiterated in various education commission reports like the Knowledge Commission, Yashpal Committee and the like. Giving effect to the above recommendations, the main aim of the present Bill is to unify and subsume the powers of all these regulatory bodies under the purview of a single, allencompassing higher education authority namely, the National Commission for Higher Education and Research (the Commission). The Commission shall act as the sole regulator for all educational institutions in India i.e. all Central and State, government and private colleges and universities including deemed universities.
One of the key features of the Bill is that it proposes to make it mandatory for all educational institutions to seek the prior authorisation of the Commission before the commencement of its academic operations. In comparison to its predecessor UGC, by virtue of the above mentioned provisions, an attempt has been made by the legislators to make the proposed Commission more powerful and centralised.
Further, the Bill introduces the concept of a ‘national registry’ to be maintained by the Commission, which shall contain the names of persons eligible and qualified for being appointed to the office of the Vice Chancellor of a given university. As per the Bill, only persons satisfying the minimum eligibility conditions, as may be specified under the regulations for such appointments, shall be entitled to hold the office of the Vice Chancellor of any university.
Additionally, the Bill also proposes to prescribe the sources, norms and mechanisms for financing of higher educational institutions. The Commission has also been empowered to specify norms and mechanisms for governance of universities and other high educational institutions.
The Bill also seeks to introduce stringent norms in relation to accreditation, evaluation and assessment of educational institutions. The Central government proposes to introduce another piece of legislation namely, the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Act, 2010, in relation to the methods of accreditation and assessment of educational institutions in India. The Bill proposes to make it mandatory for all educational institutions to be accredited through an accrediting agency registered under the said legislation.
A breather to the educational institutions amidst the proposed amendments is that the Bill provides that all the existing regulations of the UGC and AICTE will continue to remain in force as if such rule or regulation has been made under the Act except so far, as it is inconsistent with the provisions of the Act till such time as any rule or regulation under the said Act, overriding such earlier rule or regulation is notified in the official gazette.
Considering the fact that higher education is a concurrent subject under the Indian Constitution, the provision in relation to prior authorisation of the Commission for the establishment of any educational institution may be adversely viewed by the State governments as a step to undermine their authority to regulate educational institutions established under their local enactments. Also, the above stipulation may be a cause of concern for those private educational institutions, which have or are in the process of obtaining the requisite approvals from the relevant State governments for the establishment of a university but are yet to commence their academic operations, as such educational institutions, subsequent to the enactment of the Bill (the Act) will be required to obtain fresh approval from the Commission.
Existing and potential private players in the education sector may have concerns in relation to the prescription of eligibility criteria for appointment to the post of the Vice Chancellor of an educational institution by the Commission. Additionally, the proposal of bringing the mechanism and sources of funding of educational institutions, and certain matters of internal governance within the purview of the Commission may also result in anxiety amongst private players, as hitherto, such matters were considered as internal operational matters of the educational institutions and were unregulated.
Another interesting development has been the introduction of the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010 (the Foreign Education Bill) in the Lok Sabha. As per the Foreign Education Bill, every foreign educational institution intending to offer courses leading to the award of degrees or diplomas is required to be registered and notified by the Central government. The Foreign Education Bill also seeks to bring within its purview such foreign educational institutions that are offering courses in collaboration with or are having twinning arrangements or tieups with Indian institutions.
Further, the UGC has issued new regulations, namely UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2010 (the Deemed Institutions Regulations) governing institutions deemed to be universities. The Deemed Institutions Regulations amongst other amendments have increased the number of years required to make an institution eligible to apply for a ‘deemed to be university’ status from 10 to 15 years. The Deemed Institutions Regulations is as an attempt of the Central government to plug-in the lacunae, which are existing under the extant regulations governing institutions deemed to be universities
Whilst on one hand, the instant Bill is armed with much awaited amendments in the nature of a single independent regulatory body governing all educational institutions in India, thereby putting an end to the overlapping powers of authorities like AICTE, UGC. On the other hand, one of the prominent drawbacks of the Bill is that it has divested the State authorities of their power to administer and regulate educational institutions established under their respective State jurisdictions. Also, the Bill curtails the long enjoyed independence of private educational institutions in matters of appointment of their key officials or determining the nature and mechanisms of funding. Therefore, certain provisions of the Bill are required to be revisited to strike a balance between the interests and concerns of the government on one hand and the private participants on the other.
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