New Delhi, September 06: The HRD Ministry”s plan for setting up a commission that will replace existing regulatory bodies like UGC and AICTE is understood to have got support from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Ministry made a presentation before the Prime Minister on August 28 with regard to the proposal for starting National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER).
The presentation was made by Higher Education Secretary R P Agrawal in the presence of HRD Minister Kapil Sibal. Officials said the Prime Minister was inclined to the proposal and even suggested setting up of a task force to see how to go about it.
The task force will also coordinate between states and other wings of the government on the issue. As per the proposal, the NCHER will subsume the existing regulatory bodies like University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), Distance Education Council (DEC) and National Council for Teachers” Education (NCTE).
The concept of NCHER was recommended by the government-appointed committee on ”Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education”, headed by Prof Yashpal. As per the proposal, the NCHER will act as the apex regulatory body in the field of higher education in India and create enabling environment for universities to become self-regulatory bodies.
—PTI–