Lok Sabha Question No. 2311 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-08-01
Subject: Higher Education
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: K. KAMARAAJ

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

## DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2311 TO BE ANSWERED ON. 1.08.2016 HIGHER EDUCATION

## 2311. DR. K. KAMARAJ:

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

- (a) the details of the priorities set in higher education sector during the Twelfth Five Year Plan period;
- (b) the amount of funds allocated to the said priorities;
- (c) the amount of funds spent so far in the Twelfth Five Year Plan period; and
- (d) the details in this regard including the achievement of the targets set for the plan under the said priorities?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF   STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

## (DR. MAHENDRA NATH PANDEY)

- (a):  The priority areas of higher education during the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17) are  expansion, equity and excellence with a greater emphasis on quality of higher education mainly by way of setting up  of  new  institutions;  greater  emphasis  on  funding  of  State  institutions  to  improve  infrastructural facilities;  ensuring  availability,  recruitment  and  retention  of  qualified  people  to  meet  the  growing need  for  quality  faculty;  upgrading  the  skills  of  existing  faculty  and  building  synergies between teaching and research to promote excellence in both; making use of the transformative potential of new technologies to improve quality, reduce cost, improve processes and efficiency and reach a larger body of  students; and focus on skills within the higher education by setting up of community colleges and polytechnics.

(b) to (d): To meet the above stated priorities,  a  number  of  initiatives  such  as  opening  of  new institutions  of  higher  education,    implementation  of  Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya  National  Mission  on Teachers & Teaching, launching of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) on SWAYAM platform and Uchchatar  Aavishkar  Abhiyan  programme  to  promote  industry-specific  need-based  research.  The  National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology has been envisaged as a scheme with the objective of making the best use of ICT with the purpose of identification and nurturing of talent and life-long learning as well as extending the education facility to a larger section of people. During the Twelfth Five Year Plan, a new scheme called the  Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) has been approved which aims to achieve equity, access and excellence in higher education. The scheme supports components such as upgrading autonomous colleges to universities, clustering colleges to establish a university, setting up of new professional colleges in un-served and underserved areas  as  well  as  providing  infrastructure  grants  to  universities  and  colleges  to  scale  up  capacity. Amount of fund allocated and funds spent during the XII Five Year Plan from 2012-13 to 2015-16 is as under:

## (Rs in Crore)

| Department       | XII Plan Outlay   | Fund Allocated/ Budget Estimates   | Revised Estimates   | Funds spent during 2012- 13 to 2015-16   |
|------------------|-------------------|------------------------------------|---------------------|------------------------------------------|
| Higher Education | 1,10,700.00       | 64,423.26                          | 55,604.99           | 54,190.26                                |

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