Draft Higher Education Commission Bill Removes State Control

By Dr. Gyan Pathak

Draft Higher Education Commission Bill that seeks to create Higher Education Commission of India under the National Education Policy 2020 has been opposed by the department related parliamentary standing committee, stating that it would perpetuate many of the issues arising out of multiplicity of regulators leading to inconsistency in standards and monitoring making difficult to institutions to function effectively.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, has said in its report submitted in the parliament that the draft HECI Bill, which seeks to replace UGC as a single regulator, appears to perpetuate many of the same issues by maintaining a Central Government heavy composition and insufficiently State representation.

Moreover, State Universities, which educate over 90 per cent of the student population, are caught in between national and state level regulations. The proposed HECI Bill will hold significant power, including the ability to grand degree-awarding authority and close institutions. This removes State control and could lead to closure of institutions in rural areas that suffer from infrastructure or faculty shortages. It would indirectly fuel privatization especially in rural areas.

The committee has therefore recommended that a simplified hierarchy of regulatory bodies would be more effective. The Department should ensure that any such unified regulatory body must have adequate representation for all States and there should not be excess centralization.

The Committee was informed that the Government that NEP 2020 states that regulation of higher education has been too heavy-handed for decades. Too much has been attempted to be regulated with too little effect. The mechanistic and disempowering nature of the regulatory system has been rife with very basic problems, such as heavy concentrations of power within a few bodies, conflicts of interest among these bodies, and a resulting lack of accountability.

The regulatory system is in need of a complete overhaul in order to re-energize the higher education sector and enable it to thrive. In the backdrop of the NEP, 2020, for the implementation of the envisioned Regulatory System of Higher Education, the Department of Higher Education has prepared a draft Higher Education Commission of India Bill. The matter is being considered by Ministry of Education (MOE) in consultation with stakeholders.

As for the several initiatives of the Centre aimed at skill development which include linkages with industry and institutions, summits and leadership workshops, and entrepreneurship centres at business schools, the Committee observed that the initiatives focus only on certain fraction of students who have commerce or science or technical background. It ignores students with humanity related subjects.

The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Department should emphasize more on students from non-technical, humanities and related backgrounds. There should be opportunities in institutes to bring in expertise of established persons of a field. For instance, established writers, storytellers propagating writing skills as a potential career option. Similarly, there should be increased field visits for students enrolled in archaeology, geology, etc. Further, the Ministry should also take initiatives to generate awareness on further career/ education opportunities in these fields and collaborate with other Ministries to provide associated opportunities.

The National Digital University (NDU), the Committee observed, promises inclusive, flexible, and affordable education aligned with NEP goals, however, its foundation, SWAYAM, faces significant challenges. Since 2017, less than 4 per cent of enrolled students have completed SWAYAM courses. Complaints include outdated content, inflexible teaching, and poor infrastructure. Teachers report inadequate training, low compensation, and technical hurdles, undermining their efficiency. The 1:15 teacher-student ratio is disregarded in the online model, leading to overcrowded virtual classrooms. Additionally, only 4 per cent of SC/ST and 7 per cent of OBC students have internet-enabled computers, per Oxfam India 2022, questioning NDU’s equity claims.

The Committee feels that digital initiatives will only provide lukewarm response in terms of engagement unless the Department starts proactively assisting in placements wherever possible or establishing a platform associated with SWAYAM for connecting recruiters to students. It further recommends that the Department should also take steps to ensure courses are completed by candidates, since major private online platforms suffer from this. The Department should also consider establishing a separate cell for ensuring greater participation of students from underprivileged sections of society and should also monitor their enrolment and progress diligently.

The committee noted the provisions of allowing IIMs to get foreign and domestic funding on 100 per cent tax exemption basis, and also the Union Ministry of Education encouraging Centrally Funded Technical Institutes (CRTIs) for enhancement of Endowment Funds with 100 per cent deduction of payment made to the IITs/National Universities for Scientific Research purposes. However, the committee reiterated its earlier recommendation, not only for research purposes but for all purposes.

For securing adequate talent for higher educational institutions, the committee reiterated its earlier recommendation on appointing talented alumni/senior students/PhD scholars as Teaching Assistants. It can be done on a trial basis in a few universities and evaluated before being scaled up nationally.

The Committee further observes that most universities especially under the Central Government have a higher amount of contractual workforce. As many as four thousand teachers are employed in Central Universities in temporary posts. This shift away from permanent, secure government jobs towards casual, short-term contracts has been driven by the Government’s retreat from public education and the increasing influence of neo-liberal policies. Contractual positions offer no job security, no salary increments, and lack of social security benefits like promotions, pensions, or paid leave.

Despite, these disadvantages, such jobs have become highly sought after due to the scarcity of permanent jobs, particularly in fields like social sciences and humanities. Contractual faculties also face institutional hurdles when attempting to conduct research, including lack of access to research grants and insufficient institutional recognition. The Committee, therefore, strongly recommends that the Department should work on regularization of jobs to provide job security and ensure fair working conditions as well to enhance capacity building which will motivate them to put effort for improving research and pedagogy.

It was felt that there was still an urgent need to address instances, especially Question paper leak and administering a wrong question paper etc, and therefore, the Committee observes that the reply of the Department should have also taken care of this aspect, apart from the reform process undertaken in addition to constitution of Dr. Radhakrishnan Committee in order to make NAAC and NBA a benchmark for quality accreditation, and to address the issues as recommended by the Committee.

The committee noted inaction of the government on its earlier recommendation in view of growing commercialization of education and disturbing trend of making the learning process a farce through unholy nexus between coaching classes and colleges. Committee found the government reply unsatisfactory also on setting up of a task force for incorporating emerging technologies in contemporary syllabi to increase employment opportunities, and has recommended again to set it up. (IPA Service)