New Delhi: University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) that regulate higher education in Indiary, could by done away by the Government which is planning to establish a single, independent regulator in line with the recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission and the Yash Pal panel.
As per the sources, the step is an outcome of the opaque functioning and restrictive policies followed by UGC and AICTE. Universities are fettered by the two to such an extent that even small changes, like the addition of a new course in the curriculum, require their approval. If Indian universities are to become centers of excellence, the government must stop over-regulating these institutions.
This would be a welcome shift, particularly if the new body would confer more decision-making powers to universities. The proposed new National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), which would take over the academic, accreditation and financial functions of the regulators, should give a higher degree of autonomy to universities to set their budgets, design curriculum the way they like and to determine student intake.
