Lok Sabha Question No. 5922 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-04-10
Subject: Quality of Education
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: ANANDRAO  ADSUL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 5922 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.04

## Quality of Education

5922. SHRI ANANDRAO ADSUL:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  allocating  more  resources  or  focusing  more  on  higher  education  would solve some of the gripping issues faced by nation and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (b) the steps are being taken by the Government to improve the quality of education at the institutional level?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (Dr. MAHENDRA NATH PANDEY)

(a)  &  (b):  The  Central  Government  has  launched  several  initiatives  viz.  National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), Impacting Research, Innovation & Technology (IMPRINT), Uchchtar Avishkar Yojna (UAY), Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) in the field of education for the qualitative development of education in the country.

Under  the  NIRF,  Educational  Institutions  are  ranked  by  an  independent  ranking Agency  on  the  basis  of  objective  criteria.  The  IMPRINT  initiative  seeks  to  address engineering challenges in ten technology domains through the collaborative efforts of the  Indian  Institutes  of  Technology  (IITs)  and  Indian  Institute  of  Science  (IISc).  The objectives  of  UAY  scheme  are  to  promote  innovation  in  IITs  addressing  issues  of manufacturing  industries;  to  spur  innovative  mindset;  to  co-ordinate  action  between academia  &  industry  and  to  strengthen  labs  &  research  facilities.  Distinguished academicians, from premier institutions across the world, are invited under the scheme of GIAN to conduct one week or two week course at Indian institutions.

Further, strategic funding and reforms in the State higher education sector are being undertaken through the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA).

The  University  Grants  Commission  (UGC)  undertakes  maintenance  of  standards  in teaching and research and quality assurance in Universities, Deemed  to  be Universities and Colleges through the following mechanisms,  namely: framing regulations and schemes and; disbursing grants to the eligible institutions. The UGC has  notified  and  amended  several  regulations  with  the  objective  of  sustenance  and improvement in the quality of higher education and for undertaking academic reforms. The regulations are available at http://www.ugc.ac.in/page/UGC-Regulations.aspx. In order to encourage research and development in the country, the UGC  is implementing several schemes, awards, fellowships, chairs and programmes.  These schemes are at http:// www.ugc.ac.in/page/XII-Plan-Guidelines.aspx .

The  Central  Government  in  consultation  with  the  University  Grants  Commission (UGC) has been constantly striving to improve the quality of higher education based on  the  national  needs  and  aspirations  and  in  tune  with  global  trends.  In  order  to realize this, the government through UGC allocates resources in such a manner that higher  education  system  in  the  country  is  streamlined  and  strengthened  along  the principles of access, expansion, quality, equity and inclusion, research and relevance.

Further, UGC  undertakes regular monitoring for improving the quality and compatibility of higher education across institutions by constituting various in-house committees.

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