Higher education bill raises concerns

<p style="text-align: justify;">State academicians have expressed their apprehensions about the proposed National Council for Higher Education, stating that the council would not offer adequate representation to states.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><br />At the first consultation conference on the &lsquo;National Council for Higher Education and Research Bill&rsquo; hosted by the National Law School <img style="border: 3px solid black; margin: 3px 4px; float: right;" src="https://images.shiksha.com/mediadata/images/1266296895phpUJ38T9.jpeg" alt="" width="150" height="110">of India University in the city, they pointed out that 80% of the universities in the country were run by states. The centralised nature of the proposed council would exclude state universities from the decision-making process, they said.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><br />The bill envisages a National Council for Higher Education to replace other regulatory bodies like the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the University Grants Commission (UGC).</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><br />During the conference, the task force overseeing the setting up of the council took suggestions from various stakeholders, like vice-chancellors and academicians, from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><br />&ldquo;In the proposed collegium, there is no adequate representation from states,&rdquo; Halesh R, president of Bangalore University College Teachers&rsquo; Association, said. &ldquo;The state universities will not have any role in the decision-making process,&rdquo; he added.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><br />Some of the other suggestions made during the conference were the setting up of state commissions for higher education and state collegiums, and the inclusion of agriculture and medical education in the bill. Many academicians raised concerns about vice-chancellors being picked from a national registry. According to the bill, only members included in the registry shall be eligible to be chosen vice-chancellors.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><br />The members of the task force said a few other &ldquo;significant&rdquo; bills were also in the pipeline. The Education Tribunal Bill for resolution of disputes in the education sector, a bill for accreditation of institutions, and a bill to put an end to capitation fee were among them, they said.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><br />&ldquo;The bill is going to set the tone for the development of higher education in our country,&rdquo; NR Madhava Menon, a member of the task force, said.</p> <p><strong>Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/</strong></p> <p><strong>Date: 16th Feb., 2010</strong></p> <hr /> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>For further details about related courses and colleges please click below:</strong></span></p> <p>Related courses and colleges</p>