Will the autonomy of higher education institutions be undermined by the new UGC guidelines?
Md. Zakariya Khan | 31 January 2024 | Financial Express
As the University Grant Commission (UGC) introduced the new guidelines, called ‘UGC (Fitness of Colleges for Receiving Grants) Rules, 2024’, for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), replacing the guidelines of 1975, it seems to have imposed new conditions on HIEs to get recognised and to receive government funding. The draft mentions the conditions necessary for government funding, which include accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), participation in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), and fulfilment of up to 75% of sanctioned teaching positions, among other conditions. “These mandatory conditions imposed by the government across various aspects of life, including education, contradict the professed ideals of the National Education Policy. The policy claims to advocate for autonomy, yet it seems the government is intruding into every facet, including the establishment of institutions providing education…