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Will 13 be lucky for HRD Minister Kapil Sibal? With the Minister not successful so far in getting the Parliament's clearance for as many as 12 Bills, which are at different stages, the fate of the ambitious Bill on Higher Education and Research (HER) that is likely to be introduced on Tuesday remains to be seen.
Sources in the Ministry felt even if the HER Bill is introduced; it may have a long way to go before it can see the light of the day. They reminded that the implementation of the HER Bill, expected to revolutionalise higher education in the country, will depend on the passage of three preceding Bills.
These include the Bills on Education Tribunals, Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical Educational Institutions, Medical Educational Institutions and Universities and National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill “The provisions in these Bills are basically linked to the effective implementation of HER Bill and must be put in place before the latter can become functional”, the sources pointed out.
However, hopes have been raised since a Bill on the same lines for creation of an over-arching medical authority-- to be placed above all other medical education regulators such as Medical Council of India (MCI), Dental Council of India (DCI), Pharmacy Council of India and Nursing Council of India - was passed by Rajya Sabha, this week
The proposed flagship Commission for Higher Education and Research will subsume University Grants Commission, All India Council for Technical Education and National Council for Teacher's Education (NCTE). It was conceptualised on the basis of the report submitted by the Yash Pal Committee in 2009.
The Bill ran in trouble from the beginning when HRD Ministry locked horns with the Health Ministry over bringing medical education under the proposed legislation. The Bill also faced criticism from the States, particularly Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, Gujarat etc who felt the Centre was all out to monopolise the appointment of vice-chancellors in the States. There was also agitation and pressure from the UGC and AICTE employees, who were uncertain on their future.
Quelling doubts, a section of sources in the Ministry pointed out that extensive deliberations have taken place for the past two years to reach a consensus. They, however, admitted that uncertainty exists on the future of the employees that are proposed to be “subsumed”.
The mechanism on how these authoritative bodies would eventually be absorbed in the proposed commission is yet to be worked out, the sources informed. It goes without saying that the proposed commission “would be a lean body” as the financial power related to giving grants to the universities will be taken over from the UGC by the MHRD.
Sources in the Ministry felt even if the HER Bill is introduced; it may have a long way to go before it can see the light of the day. They reminded that the implementation of the HER Bill, expected to revolutionalise higher education in the country, will depend on the passage of three preceding Bills.
These include the Bills on Education Tribunals, Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical Educational Institutions, Medical Educational Institutions and Universities and National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill “The provisions in these Bills are basically linked to the effective implementation of HER Bill and must be put in place before the latter can become functional”, the sources pointed out.
However, hopes have been raised since a Bill on the same lines for creation of an over-arching medical authority-- to be placed above all other medical education regulators such as Medical Council of India (MCI), Dental Council of India (DCI), Pharmacy Council of India and Nursing Council of India - was passed by Rajya Sabha, this week
The proposed flagship Commission for Higher Education and Research will subsume University Grants Commission, All India Council for Technical Education and National Council for Teacher's Education (NCTE). It was conceptualised on the basis of the report submitted by the Yash Pal Committee in 2009.
The Bill ran in trouble from the beginning when HRD Ministry locked horns with the Health Ministry over bringing medical education under the proposed legislation. The Bill also faced criticism from the States, particularly Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, Gujarat etc who felt the Centre was all out to monopolise the appointment of vice-chancellors in the States. There was also agitation and pressure from the UGC and AICTE employees, who were uncertain on their future.
Quelling doubts, a section of sources in the Ministry pointed out that extensive deliberations have taken place for the past two years to reach a consensus. They, however, admitted that uncertainty exists on the future of the employees that are proposed to be “subsumed”.
The mechanism on how these authoritative bodies would eventually be absorbed in the proposed commission is yet to be worked out, the sources informed. It goes without saying that the proposed commission “would be a lean body” as the financial power related to giving grants to the universities will be taken over from the UGC by the MHRD.
