Centre proposes to give more autonomy to institutions of higher learning
The Centre is mulling over giving more autonomy to premier institutions of higher learning depending on their performance.
The Centre is mulling over giving more autonomy to premier institutions of higher learning depending on their performance.
“The government role must be that of a facilitator and not a controller, for which it proposes to give more autonomy to premier institutions of higher learning, based on their performance,” union minister for human resource development, Prakash Javadekar told reporters during an interaction with the media at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali.
“To improve quality of education, new education policy is being formulated. In coming four months, the policy would be finalized. Suggestions with regards to the policy are being commissioned from students, academicians and industrialists. Apart from this any person can sent their suggestion by September 30 to the ministry,” he said.
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The minister was in Mohali to chair the review meeting with directors of five IISERs located at Pune, Kolkata, Mohali (SAS Nagar), Bhopal and Thiruvananthapuram and the branch of the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, at IISER, Mohali (Punjab).
He stressed on research and innovation and said that institutions like the IITs, IIMs and IISERs must make efforts to ensure that the quality of education being imparted in our top institutions is reflected in their international rankings.
Javadekar said that research and innovation must power the Make in India campaign, as sustainable progress is achieved only in those nations which themselves innovate.
He said that the Prime Minister’s scholarship for research is being envisaged for IISERs on the same lines as for IITs and IIMs.
The review meeting was followed by an interaction with students and faculty of IISER Mohali where he received feedback for improving the performance of these institutions. He was accompanied by MOS HRD (Higher Education) Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey.
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In the run up to the Mohali meeting, Javadekar had already held review meetings of IIITs, IITs and IIMs. Improving the quality and promoting research in these institutions has been the underlying principal theme of reviewing all the central institutions.
On October 6, he is scheduled to meet vice chancellors of 41 central universities at Banaras Hindu University. The meeting will focus on actions taken and proposals for improvement of quality in education, research, internal resource generation, infrastructure, student centric initiatives, and e-governance initiatives.
Punjab University vice chancellor Arun Kumar Grover who met Javadekar at IISER on Friday submitted a detailed report on the financial crunch the university is facing.
