Indian HRD ministry constitutes council for qualitative reforms in higher education

Last updated on 17th Dec. 2014

Extracts from, and comments on, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Qualitative Reforms in Higher Education, dated 16th December 2014, http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=113460

The Ministry of Human Resource Development has constituted a Council for Industry & Higher Education Collaboration (CIHEC) headed by HRD Minister, with representatives from Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIIT) and industry including industry associations such as Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM) and Progress Harmony and Development Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PHDCCI); private industry and Public Sector Undertaking (PSUs). CIHEC is envisioned to serve as a professional stakeholder group and identify issues and opportunities and facilitate development of strategies and innovative instruments of collaboration between Industry and Academia.

[Ravi: Interesting move. Let's see what CIHEC is able to do to qualitatively improve Indian higher education.]

Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), the overall quality of existing State higher educational institutions is sought to be improved by ensuring their conformity to prescribed norms and standards and adoption of accreditation as a mandatory quality assurance framework. Certain academic, administrative and governance reforms are a precondition for receiving funding under RUSA.

[Ravi: So accreditation seems to be the key mechanism in their plan to improve highered quality, and, very importantly, tying accreditation to some central government funds.]

...

The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has informed that in order to promote quality of technical education, it has introduced various schemes such as Faculty Development Programme, Visiting Professorship, National Faculty in Engineering and Technology with Industrial Collaboration (NAFETIC), Quality Improvement Programme etc. It has also issued the Mandatory Accreditation of all Programs/Courses in Technical Education Institutions, University Departments and Institutions Deemed to be Universities imparting Technical Education Regulations, 2014 which makes it mandatory for each technical education institutions, university departments and institutions Deemed to be Universities imparting technical education to get all its programs/courses accredited.

[Ravi: All programs/courses must be accredited! I hope the accreditation process includes quality assessment of lab. courses in Computer Science/Information Technology stream as they are the key courses related to imparting practical knowledge in CS/IT.]

This information was given by the Union Human Resource Development Minister, Smt. Smriti Irani in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha question.

[Ravi: I am very happy to see that such questions are being raised in the Indian parliament (Rajya Sabha is the upper house of the Indian parliament), and that the concerned minister is giving a written response, and making that response available on the Internet for any interested Indian (like me) to view.]