Centre Mulls Higher Education Panel

New Delhi: In a bid to streamline the higher education policy in all streams, including engineering, management studies, agriculture and medical, the Centre is mulling the setting up of a National Commission for Higher Education.

The Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) has proposed a Commission to give uniformity to the higher education policy, said sources in the MHRD, adding that the Ministry had already sent a proposal to the Planning Commission in this regard.

Even the Knowledge Commission headed by Sam Pitroda suggested in its report that the government must set up a single regulatory body to rationalize the higher education policy.

As per the existing system there are 16 bodies, like the Dental Council of India, Medical Council of India, Indian Nursing Council, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTU), each monitoring the working of its wing.

These individual regulatory agencies work independently of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and some of them are not even administered by the MHRD. This has resulted in a loss of focus and a conflict of interest between different stake holders while framing policy.

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