December 14, 2020.
TED NewsDesk, New Delhi: As informed by a government representative, the year 2021 will see the abolition of autonomous higher educational bodies the University Grants Commission and All India Council for Technical Education. Instead, a government-supervised Higher Education Commission will be established to take their place.
The move has been taken keeping in mind the guidelines planned out in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The NEP states the formation of a Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) to regulate every area of higher education, apart from legal and medical, under an overarching governing body.
The decision was approved by the Union Cabinet a few days ago. As per Amit Khare, the Higher Education Secretary, “You will see some of the major changes in 2021 itself. If I could list out, for example, the common admission test for entrance to all central universities that are coming in 2021, the Academic Bank of Credit through which one can transfer credits from one university to another, that is also 2021.”
The educational bodies that are going to be abolished are UGC, AICTE and National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) in accordance with the administrative changes planned for the next year.
Khare also discussed the National Research Fund, which also finds mention in the NEP. Its main objective is to provide funds for research to researchers seeking funding or sponsorship in the country.
He added, “All universities, be it private, state, or Central, they can have competitive funding. It’s like the National Science Foundation of the USA. Some addition that we have added, social science also will be the part of National Research Fund.”
Source: India Today