‘UGC cannot form panel to check institutions of eminence’

The UGC cannot form an empowered expert committee for selection, monitoring and review of institutions of eminence, the Solicitor General recommended to the HRD ministry on Monday.

The information was shared by the Minister of State for HRD Mahendra Nath Pandey in response to a written question in Lok Sabha.

The HRD ministry had sought law ministry’s opinion regarding formulating regulations for institutions of eminence in the country, which had in turn referred the matter to solicitor general of India.

“The solicitor general has opined that as per the UGC Act 1956, it is not possible to form an empowered expert committee for the purpose of selection, monitoring and review of the Institutions of Eminence,” the minister said.

The pointers on which the solicitor general has given a go ahead include-whether the proposed University Grants Commission’s (UGC) draft regulations and guidelines for institutions of eminence would be within the framework of existing statutory framework and whether it is possible to frame regulations for separate class of Deemed to be Universities namely “Institutions of Eminence Deemed to be Universities”.

The solicitor general has also opined that the UGC is empowered to frame such regulations and guidelines to give effect to concerns expressed by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech regarding efforts for Indian higher educational institutions to emerge as world class institutions.