Onus is on State govt. to name V-Cs, says UGC chief

Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar said the courts had made it clear that a Central Act prevailed and in this case the UGC Act superseded the State Act with regard to appointment of Vice-Chancellors

The onus is on the State governments to appoint vicechancellors as soon as possible as per the regulations of the University Grants Commission on constitution of VC search panel, UGC Chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar said on Friday.

Stating that the universities left without regular VCs affected the quality of education and future of students, he said the courts had made it clear that a Central Act prevailed and in this case the UGC Act superseded the State Act.

The courts had said that a UGC representative should be a part of the selection panel, Mr. Kumar added.

Flexible system

On M.Phil programmes being still offered by some State universities in Tamil Nadu, the UGC Chairman said a masters degree was enough for pursuing Ph.D, and as per National Education Policy 2020 that has made the higher education

M. Jagadesh Kumar

system flexible, a student completing a fouryear UG programme can pursue research. The UGC will not recognise M.Phil degrees, he said.

The acceptance of NEP 2020 has been overwhelming across the country, he said to a query on reluctance of Tamil Nadu Government to adopt it.

The NEP 2020 has three main objectives: aligning education to learning outcomes, catering to students of varied cognitive, financial and socioeconomic background; and delivery on a mass scale for ensuring access of quality education to all. “Can these be opposed,” the

UGC Chairman wondered.

Onethird of the work on creation of Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) identity cards for 30 crore students in India had been carried out.

The entire task would be completed in two years. It would pave the way for carrying forward the 160 academic credits obtained in four stages in schoollevel seamlessly to the higher education platform. The digitised data will obviate the need for students to submit hard copies of school certificates for pursuing higher education, he said.

Universities from the U.S., Australia, the U.K. and other European countries had shown interest in establishing campuses in India, and a portal had been created for them to apply.

It would be a winwin situation for them since the foreign universities will cater to aspirational human capital.

For Indian students, it would mean costsaving. IITDelhi and IITMadras had established campuses abroad, for internationalising Indian education.

The UGC Chairman sounded certain that foreign universities setting up campuses in India would pave the way for a healthy competition.

Ombudsman

absent

The UGC was thinking of taking action against universities that failed to appoint Ombudsperson for addressing grievances of students.

About 159 universities were yet to comply with the UGC directive, he said.

The UGC had been writing to the Secretaries and Governors for initiation of measures to fill large numbers of unfilled teaching vacancies in universities.

On the emphasis by UGC on starting Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) in a multidisciplinary environment, the UGC Chairman said universities were being encouraged to start the programme.

Two IITs have already started ITEP. The UGC Chairman acknowledged, while replying to a query, that all standalone B.Ed. colleges will lose their relevance after 2030.