How Excessive Regulation Is Holding Back India’s Higher Education
Furqan Qamar | 13 December 2024 | The Deccan Herald
In many countries, known for excellence in higher education, academic reforms are left to the higher educational institutions. At the most, they may provide a broad framework in the form of the National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF), specifying levels of qualification, admission criteria, credit requirements, and methods and procedures for credit acceptance and transfer, forming a broad framework for the award and recognition of higher education qualifications. However, in India, higher education regulatory authorities, particularly the University Grants Commission (UGC), mandate detailed, binding regulations controlling almost every aspect of higher education.
The UGC's regulatory ambit spans undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, PhD, faculty qualifications, minimum standards for the award of degrees, norms and standards for faculty appointment and promotion, undergraduate higher education qualification framework (UGHEQF), postgraduate higher education qualification framework (PGHEQF), National Vocational Education Qualification Framework (NVEQF), National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF), specification of degrees, pursuing two degrees simultaneously, separate credit framework for undergraduate and postgraduate, and a highly structure sophisticated mechanism enabling students to earn, accumulate, deposit and encash credits through the academic bank of credit (ABC)…