Expert panel to hold meet to chalk out strategy for six eminent institutes

NEW DELHI: The Empowered Expert Committee (EEC) under the chairmanship of N Gopalaswami will meet some time this month to discuss the future course of action for the six institutes selected under the Centre’s Institute of Eminence (IOE) scheme and those that the committee had recommended but failed to get the IOE status, officials of the University Grants Commission (UGC) have said.

“The committee will hold a preliminary meeting through video conference in August, and a final meeting in September. Even i nstitutes t hat were awarded the IOE status require guidance, so the committee will discuss a range of issues,” the UGC official said.

On July 9, the UGC announced six names — three public (IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, and IISC Bangalore) and three private (Jio Institute, BITS Pilani, and Manipal Academy of Higher Education) as IOE. The committee was entrusted to find 20 such institutes but cited ‘weak quality of teaching and research’ as reasons for not naming the others.

Another UGC official said the committee will also take a call on institutes that were recommended. Under the scheme, the public institutions will be eligible for both greater autonomy and government funds to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore given over the next five years, the private institutes will only enjoy academic and administrative autonomy.

On Monday, following mounting criticism over the inclusion of Reliance Foundation-run Jio Institute, which is yet to come into existence, human resource development minister Prakash Javadekar had told the Lok Sabha that “only a Letter of Intent” was issued to it.

ANOTHER UGC OFFICIAL SAID THE EEC WILL ALSO TAKE A CALL ON THOSE INSTITUTES THAT WERE RECOMMENDED BUT DID NOT GET THE IOE STATUS