IITS, JNU, DU, Jadavpur seek to become ‘Institutes of Eminence’

NEW DELHI: Many of India’s bestknown universities and colleges, including Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Panjab University, most of the top Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and a number of state universities have joined the race to be named institutes of eminence.

Several people familiar with the matter said that, till Monday evening, the human resources development (HRD) ministry had received 73 applications from institutions wishing to be named institutes of eminence, which will come with significant financial and academic autonomy, and, for government institutions, financial support.

Among those who have applied are the seven IITs at Madras, Delhi, Bombay, Kharagpur, Kanpur, Guwahati and Roorkee, as well as Jadavpur University, Goa University and Mangalore University. From the private sector, OP Jindal Global University, Ashoka University, Manipal University and Amity University have applied.

The deadline is December 12, and ministry officials expect the close to a hundred applications.

So far, they added, six private institutions have also applied to be named institutes of eminence. The private institutes will not be eligible for government funding if they get the tag.

The ministry is expected to start on the process of shortlisting institutes soon.

“The response has been overwhelming and we are hoping to get more applications by tomorrow, which is the last day. Central and state universities, and IITs have also applied ,” said a senior University Grants Commission (UGC) official on condition of anonymity.

In 2016, the government announced plans to create 20 world class universities in India -- 10 each from the private and public space. Existing as well as upcoming institutions can bid for the tag. Since then, the name has changed from world class university to institutes of eminence.

The UGC has already notified the UGC (Institutions of Eminence Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2017, for private institutions and UGC (Declaration of Government Educational Institutions as Institutions of Eminence) Guidelines, 2017, for public ones.

Unlike other institutions, the 20 institutes with the status of eminence will get greater autonomy to start new courses, set fees, admit foreign students, hire foreign faculty, and collaborate with foreign educational institutions without seeking government approval.

The government will invest Rs10,000 crore over the next few years in the 10 public higher education institutions short-listed.

“The objective is to provide for greater academic, financial, administrative and other regulatory autonomy to 10 public and 10 private higher educational institutions to emerge as worldclass teaching and research institutions. They will have an emphasis on multi-disciplinary initiatives, high-quality research, global best practices and international collaborations,” said a senior HRD ministry official, who asked not to be identified.

The institutions will be evaluated by a panel of experts and the names of the selected institutes of eminence are expected by March 2018.