Isro ex-chief-led panel to onboard HEIs in new regulatory setup
NEW DELHI: In a key development on the much-delayed Higher Education Commission of India (HECI), the Centre has constituted an empowered committee under the chairmanship of former
Isro
chief K Radhakrishnan to facilitate the onboarding of higher educational institutions (HEIs) under the proposed regulatory framework.
The ministry of education notified the committee on Friday, tasking it with resolving implementation issues and harmonising existing protocols to ensure a smooth transition.
The committee is expected to submit its report within three weeks.
With 18 members, the committee includes directors of leading institutions such as IIT-Bombay, IIM-Ahmedabad, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, and VCs of Delhi University, Utkal University and SASTRA Deemed University, Thanjavur.
Also on board are chairpersons of existing statutory bodies like the UGC, AICTE and NCTE.
HECI was proposed under the National Education Policy 2020 as an overarching body to replace UGC and consolidate higher education regulation. It aims to bring all institutions under a single umbrella for academic standards, accreditation, and funding, while maintaining autonomy for domain-specific decisions through subject councils.
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However, the legislation to establish HECI has faced delays since its draft in 2018, with various iterations seeking to address concerns.
The panel's terms of reference include addressing 'specific difficulties of HEIs to be brought under HECI's purview so that appropriate clarifications may be issued,' and analysing 'regulatory protocols of different statutory bodies and recommending applicable protocols for HEIs to become multidisciplinary institutions.' It is also tasked with proposing ' mechanisms in view of HECI' for funding and technical support systems, and to 'suggest organisational structure of Standards Councils,' while ensuring that statutory bodies continue to lay down academic standards and coordinate between teaching and research.
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