Withdrawal of Higher Education & Research Bill, 2011 from Parliament (Rajya Sabha)

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for withdrawal of the Higher Education and Research Bill, 2011 from Parliament (Rajya Sabha). 

 

The Bill was examined by the Department related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development (PSC on HRD), which presented its 247th report to the Rajya Sabha on 13.12.2012. 

 

The PSC on HRD had expressed its concerns on certain provisions of the Bill such as the University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), which were proposed to be subsumed should be re-structured and strengthened, taking the long awaited corrective measures. The interests of staff/employees of these organizations needed to be safeguarded. The report also felt that centralization of powers instead of assignment of roles and functions to the State Governments were detrimental to the federal nature of Indian polity. The performance of existing regulatory bodies would accordingly be reviewed to identify problems and areas of weaknesses in them and undertake necessary corrective measures as required. 

 

In view of the suggestions and recommendations of the PSC on HRD, the Government has decided to withdraw the HE&R Bill, 2011. The Government on 30th July, 2014 constituted a UGC review committee recognising the need for restructuring the UGC and reshaping its educational leadership and regulatory role to address imperatives and challenges in the higher education sector in the country. The committee would evaluate the performance of the UGC in coordinating and determining the standards of education in universities, conducting an audit of its regulatory reach; requirement of regulatory space for the UGC vis a vis other regulatory bodies in the higher education sector; assessment of regulatory space for the UGC vis a vis autonomy and accountability of higher educational institutions; analysis of the regulatory functions vis a vis the grants disbursing functions and recommending changes in the balance between the two; to introduce performance based system of release of funds and align it to the "Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) guidelines; measures for effectively regulating distance and online education in the country; restructuring of the entire UGC including its regional offices; new measures for enhancing student mobility and internationalisation in higher education; measures for reinvigorating the teaching environment in universities and colleges; measures for enhancing quality research and ushering in a climate of innovation in the higher education sector and; regulation of private not-for-profit entities in higher education and suggest measures to curb commercialisation. 

 

Background: 

 

The Higher Education and Research Bill (HE&R Bill) was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 28th December, 2011. The Bill provided inter-alia for the establishment of an over-arching authority called the National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER). The salient features of the HE&R Bill are as follows: 

 

i. NCHER was to determine, coordinate, maintain and promote standards of higher education and research (university, vocational, technical and professional education), other than agricultural education and minimum standards of medical education. 

 

ii. NCHER was to subsume existing regulatory bodies in higher education like the UGC, AICTE, NCTE and the Distance Education Council (DEC) 

 

iii. The NCHER was to have a General Council - a representative body with advisory and recommendatory functions, in addition to the powers to approve regulations framed by the Commission. 

 

iv. Collegium of Scholars - a partly self-selecting body of about 30 persons of eminence in higher education and research to guide the Commission. 

 

v. Board for Research Promotion and Innovation, to recommend measures to the Commission to promote and facilitate research in higher education. 

 

vi. Higher Education Financial Services Corporation to disburse grants to higher educational institutions.