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Journalism of Courage
In a move towards putting together a credible and interference free system to appoint Vice-Chancellors to universities,the HRD Ministry has drafted provisions in a new legislation that promises to usher in structural changes in the higher education sector.
The draft Bill on creation of National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) has proposed a national database of those eligible and qualified to be appointed as Vice-Chancellors or heads of educational institutes. NCHER will be an overarching body that will subsume all other existing regulators like the UGC and AICTE.
The draft Bill,based on the recommendations of a high-powered task force,says that when a vacancy arises in a varsity,instead of going the search-cum-selection committee route that is often misused through political interference,the Commission will simply recommend a set of five names from the national registry one of whom will be appointed as V-C.
HRD Minister Kapil Sibals predecessor in UPA I Arjun Singh had run into controversy when the ministry appointed V-Cs to 14 new central universities just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and many of these appointments were seen as political in nature. Politics-free appointments were recommended both by the PM-backed National Knowledge Commission and the Prof Yashpal-led Committee report on Rejuvenation of Higher Education.
The V-C appointments apart,the Bill also proposes that every new university/institute must be accredited before it begins its first academic session or even starts its admission process. The NCHER will outline the norms and standards for granting of accreditation.
The Commission itself will have seven members on Board and a Chairman all appointed by the President of India on the recommendations of a selection committee that will be headed by the Prime Minister.
