DEEMED UNIVERSITY STATUS

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In News

• The University Grants Commission (UGC) released its draft UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2022, that will replace the 2019 regulations.

 

Details

• The draft regulations create a new category of institutions, known as “distinct institutions”.
  • It will be exempted from the eligibility criteria that are laid down for other higher education institutions to receive the status of “Deemed to be University”.
  • They will not be required to comply with the requirement of a teacher-student ratio of 1:20.
  • These institutions;
    • Focus on teaching and research in the special discipline.
    • Addressing the strategic needs of the country.
    • Engaged in the preservation of Indian cultural heritage.
    • Preservation of the environment.
    • Dedicated to skill development.
    • Dedicated to sports or languages or any other disciplines.
  • Institutions with at least a 3.01 CGPA for 3 consecutive cycles or ranking among the top 50 or top 100 given by the National Institute Ranking Framework.
  • A cluster of government or private institutions can also apply for the status.
  • Now, the UGC, and not the Union Ministry of Education, will be the authority for granting permission to a “Deemed to be University” to set up an off-campus centre.

Related News

• The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) competing for the tag ‘Deemed to be university’.
  • NCERT is an autonomous academic body set up in 1961 to assist and advise the Union and State Governments on policies and programmes related to school education.
• NCERT recently applied to the University Grants Commission (UGC) for the “deemed university” status. The proposal will be discussed at a meeting of the Executive Committee (EC).
  • The EC is the highest decision-making body of NCERT and is chaired by the Union Education Minister.
• According to the official sources, the ‘Deemed to be University’ status would allow NCERT to offer its graduate, post-graduate and doctoral degrees and have autonomy in terms of the introduction of programmes, course structure, conducting examinations and management, among others.

 

University Grants Commission (UGC)

• University Grants Commission is a statutory body under the University Grants Commission Act, of 1956.
• UGC is charged with the task of coordinating and maintaining standards of higher education in India.
• It provides recognition to universities and also allocates funds to universities and colleges.
• UGC headquarters are in New Delhi, and it also has 6 regional centres.
• All grants to universities and higher learning institutions are handled by the UGC.
• In 2015-16, the Union government initiated a National Institutional Ranking Framework under UGC to rank all educational institutes.
• UGC also conducts the National Eligibility Test (NET) for the appointments of teachers in colleges and universities.
• M Jagadesh Kumar is the current chairman of the UGC.
• Recently, the UGC has released the guidelines for transforming colleges and universities into multidisciplinary institutions and also suggested “clustering” of facilities located in closeness to each other.
  • The UGC has also suggested academic collaboration between institutions to promote research in online and offline modes.
  • Promoting multidisciplinary institutions was one of the key recommendations of the National Education Policy, 2020.
  • These guidelines aim to aid State governments and universities to frame relevant rules and policies.
  • The cluster system will help institutions in improving their grades in National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) accreditation.
  • Institutions need to design their timetable in cooperation with partner institutions so that students could register easily.
  • The partner colleges would share their resources and guide student in research projects.
  • The University Grants Commission (UGC) suggested a capacity-building programme for faculty through initiatives like Annual Refresher Programme, learning assessment tools, etc, so that they can teach, train and research in multidisciplinary academic programmes.
  • The UGC suggested setting up Education Departments in universities and colleges that will assist in curriculum creation and establishing communication among teachers and students of partner colleges.

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