Know your Ministry - No. 32 - Education Department of Higher Education

The Department of Higher Education under Ministry of Education is responsible for the overall development of the basic infrastructure of Higher Education sector, both in terms of policy and planning. Under a planned development process, the Department looks after expansion of access and qualitative improvement in the Higher Education, through world class Universities, Colleges and other Institutions. It has set out a Vision to realize India's human resource potential to its fullest in the Higher Education sector, with equity and inclusion.

DEPARTMENT’S MISSION

• Provide greater opportunities of access to Higher Education with equity to all the eligible persons and in particular to the vulnerable sections.
• Expand access by supporting existing institutions, establishing new institutions, supporting State Governments and Non-Government Organizations/civil society to supplement public efforts aimed at removing regional or other imbalances that exist at present.
• Initiate policies and programmes for strengthening research and innovations and encourage institutions - public or private to engage in stretching the frontiers of knowledge.
• Promote the quality of Higher Education by investing in infrastructure and faculty, promoting academic reforms, improving governance and institutional restructuring toward the inclusion of the hitherto deprived communities.

OBJECTIVES OF THE DEPARTMENT

• To expand the Higher Education sector in all is modes of delivery to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Higher Education to 15% by 2011-12 to 21% by 2016-17 and 30% by the year 2020.
• To expand institutional base of Higher Education (including technical, professional and vocational education) by creating additional capacity in existing institutions, establishing new institutions and incentivizing State Governments and Non-Governmental Organizations/civil society.
• To expand institutional base of Higher Education (including technical, professional and vocational education) by creating additional capacity in existing institutions, establishing new institutions and incentivizing State Governments and Non-Governmental Organizations/civil society.
• To provide opportunities of Higher Education to socially-deprived communities and remove disparities by promoting the inclusion of women, minorities and differently-abled persons.
• To remove regional imbalances in access to Higher Education by setting up of institutions in unnerved and underserved areas.
• To enhance plan support for infrastructure and faculty development in the institutions of higher learning and to attract talent towards careers in teaching and research.
• To create conditions for knowledge generation through improved research facilities in universities and colleges.
• To promote collaboration with International community, foreign governments, universities/ institutions and regional and international institutions, for the advancement of universal knowledge and intellectual property rights.
• To promote development of Indian languages.
• To promote autonomy, innovations, academic reforms in institutions of higher learning.
• To undertake institutional restructuring for improving efficiency, relevance and creativity in Higher Education.

PRINCIPAL FUNCTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT

• Enhancement of Gross Enrolment Ratio by expanding access through all modes.
• Promoting the participation of these sections of the society whose GER is lower than the national average.
• To improve quality and to promote academic reforms.
• Setting up of new educational institutions and also capacity expansion and improvement of the existing institutions.
• Use of Technology in Higher Education and International Collaboration in the field of education.
• Development of Vocational Education and Skill Development.
• Development of Indian Languages.

APEX LEVEL BODIES: All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), Council of Architecture (COA), Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR), Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and University Grants Commission (UGC)

SUBJECTS ALLOCATED TO THE DEPARTMENT

The following subjects are allocated to the Department of Higher Education, as per Second Schedule to the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961:

• University education; Central Universities; Rural Higher Education, Foreign Aid Programme relating to Higher Education, Technical Education Planning.
• Institutions of higher learning (other than Universities).
• Audio Visual Education with reference to the items in the list
• Production of University level textbooks in Regional Languages.
• The Copyright Act, 1957 and International Conventions on Copyrights.
• Educational research
• Publications, information and statistics
• Development and propagation of Hindi, including multi-lingual dictionaries.
• Grant of Financial assistance for the teaching and promotion of Hindi
• Propagation and development of Sanskrit.
• Rehabilitation and other problems relating to displaced teachers and students
• Central Advisory Board of Education.
• UNESCO and Indian National Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO.
• Matters relating to all scholarships, including those offered by foreign countries and foreign agencies, in subjects dealt with by this Department but excluding scholarships to students belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes and General Scholarships Schemes and scholarships to foreign students and different schemes.
• Education and Welfare of Indian Students overseas; Education Departments of Indian Missions overseas; Financial assistance to education institutions and Indian Students' Associations abroad.
• Educational Exchange Programmes, exchange of teachers, professors, educationists, technologists, etc.; programme of exchange of scholars between India and foreign countries.
• Grant of permission to teachers of Universities, colleges and institutions of higher learning to accept assignments abroad.
• Admission of foreign students in Indian Institutions.
• Charities and Charitable Institutions, Charities and Religious Endowments pertaining to subjects dealt within this Department.
• Adhoc scientific research, other than research in higher mathematics, nuclear science and atomic energy, in universities and educational institutions.
• Vigyan Mandirs.
• General Policy regarding partial financial assistance to Scientists going abroad for studies in fields other than mathematics, nuclear science and atomic energy.
• Expansion, Development and Coordination of Technical Education.
• School of Planning and Architecture.
• Regional Schools of Printing.
• Grants-in-aid to State Government institutions, non-Government institutions, professional bodies and technical institutions of Union Territories for technical education. Grants-in-aid for post-graduate studies in basic sciences, grants-in-aid for development of higher scientific and technological education and research in educational institutions; Grants-in-aid for fundamental research in science and technology, grants to individuals for fundamental research.
• All Indian Council for Technical Education, including conduct of its National Diploma and National Certificate Examinations.
• Practical training facilities for students of engineering and technological institutions.
• Recognition of professional technical qualification for purposes of recruitment to posts under Government of India.
• National Research Professorships and Fellowships.
• Holding of Foreign Examination in the fields of professional and technical education in India
• University Grants Commission.
• National Book Trust.
• Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad.
• Indian School of Mines and Applied Geology, Dhanbad.
• Indian Institutes of Technology at Kharagpur, Mumbai, Kanpur, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati and Roorkee.
• Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
• The Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
• International Students Houses in India and abroad.
• Schemes for grant of financial assistance to voluntary organisations for promotion of modern Indian languages.
• Regulation of Engineering Professional Services.

ACTS AND SUBORDINATE LEGISLATION : The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, The University Grants Commission Act, 1956, The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act, 2004, Notification issued by Government Notifying NCMEI (Financial and Administrative Powers) Rules 2005, NCMEI (Financial and Administrative Powers) Amendment Rules 2012, NCMEI (Annual Report) Rules 2005, NCMEI Minority Educational Institutions (Annual Statement of Accounts) Rules, 2006, NCMEI Minority Educational Institutions (Annual Statement of Accounts) Amendment Rules, 2006, Rules for Salaries and Allowances and other Conditions of Service of Chairperson and other members, NCMEI (Procedure and Appeal) Rules, 2006, and NCMEI (Procedure and Appeal) Amendment Rules, 2012, The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (Amendment) Act, 2010, The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Ordinance, 2004, National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (Amendment) Act, 2006, The Central Universities Act, 2009, The School of Planning and Architecture Act 2014, The All India Council for Technical Education Act, 1987, The Institutes of Technology Act, 1961, National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007, The National Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Act,2012, The National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment) Act,2014, The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Act, 2012,  The Architects Act, 1972, The Apprentices Act, 1961, Draft Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIIT) Bill, 2010, National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment Act), 2014, The Indian Institutes of Management Bill, 2017, Indira Gandhi National Open University Act, 1985, The Copyright Act, 1957 and The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012

PRINCIPAL ISSUES BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

• Unrealistic Plan and Approach to realise its Vision to reach out the stipulated Mission in the accomplishment of objectives.
• Perennial depletion of the quality of teaching community due to lack of training and designated qualifications.
• Despite huge investment and financing for Higher Education, it has NOT helped to improve the quality of Education.
• Irrational Privatisation has only resulted in massive commercialisation to explore the business interests in the Education sector.
• Political influence and statutory obligation in Education sector has exposed undue influence or interference has dented the progress towards making the country to become an Education Destination.
• Professional Education is devoid of project based learning to acquire special new skills to become job worthy especially in gaining domain related vocational skills devoid of practical knowledge.
• Higher Education is not oriented to become a conduit for manufacturing sector as it skills are developed only for service and marketing sector
• Over the last few decades there has been a massive mushrooming of low quality educational Institutions all over the country aiming to swindle money from students and their parents without the requisite infrastructure capacity coupled with poor teaching community and they are all about fleecing money from students and their parents. This is attributed to the inefficient management and administration of laws and guidelines for granting approval and recognition in force.

WAY FORWARD

• Develop world class facilities and infrastructure for Higher Education deploying the best of technology all over the country with the Ministry taking lead in the capacity of supervisory and regulatory framework in the public or Government institutions at par with the best.
• Improve the quality of teaching community deploying latest teaching tools/gadgets, flexible curriculum and pedagogy and fix accountability on the weak and non performing teachers using modern scientific technological tools.
• Remove all the constraints and bottlenecks in the Research initiatives of students by encouraging innovative thoughts, analytical and critical approach to assess the root cause of problems and encourage originality and creativity through a National Research Policy.
• Nullify or minimize the uneven access to opportunity for quality education across different population groups and geographies.
• Education Curriculum should be framed more on practical and skill development process rather than classroom theoretical approach where evaluation is wholly based on mark or grade structure.
• Teaching Community should be encouraged to focus on career prospects of their students by formulating a common eligibility matrix across various domains to develop employable skills.
• Deploy all technology tools in teaching methods and train the staff with adequate expertise in tune with real-time updation of latest developments in respective domains using high-tech digital libraries.