Data on faculty vacancies

Only top 15% on NET merit list eligible for lectureship
By Sanjiv Dube
NEW DELHI : Only the top 15% of candidates in the National Eligibility Test (NET) merit list for each subject and category will be declared qualified and will be eligible for lectureship, according to a University Grants Commission (UGC) notification issued by the Secretary on December 27.

The notification defines the criteria for declaration of result for NET conducted on December 30, 2012. According to the new scheme, the candidates will need to obtain minimum marks in each paper separately.

According to UGC officials, the merit list will include only those candidates who have obtained minimum marks in each paper separately. The final merit list will be prepared subject-wise
and category-wise using the aggregate marks of all the three papers. A separate merit list for the award of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) will be prepared from amongst the NET-qualified candidates figuring in the merit list.

NET will comprise three papers and will consist of only objective-type questions. While in Paper II and III all the 50 and 75 questions respectively are compulsory, in Paper I, of the 60
questions the candidates are required to attempt only 50. While Paper I is of general nature to assess the teaching/research aptitude, Paper II and III will have subject-specific and each
question will carry two marks.

UGC’s NET Bureau has devised a four-step criteria for declaration of results. In the first step, candidates need to score minimum marks separately in all three papers. For general
category candidates one has to score 40% each in paper I and II, and 50% in paper III; while for OBC (non-creamy) category the distribution is 35%, 35% and 45% respectively.

Amongst those candidates who have cleared step I, a merit list will be prepared subject-wise and category-wise using the aggregate marks of all the three papers secured by such candidates. And in step III, only 15% candidates (for each subject and category), from the merit list mentioned under step II, will be declared NET-qualified for eligibility for lectureship
alone.

A separate merit list for JRF will be prepared from amongst the NET-qualified candidates figuring in the merit list prepared under step III.

Around 7.8 Lakh candidates have registered for the examination which will be conducted in 78 subjects at 77 centres in the country.

The final merit list will be prepared subject-wise and category-wise using the aggregate marks of all the three papers secured by such candidates. For JRF, a separate merit list will be prepared

Regulations to check deemed varsities
NEW DELHI : On January 27, 2012 the University Grants Commission formally approved the draft regulations that seek to tighten the noose around deemed universities.

The regulations would ensure government control on admissions, fee structure, job recruitment, curriculum and maintenance of academic standards in deemed universities, according to Prof K Ramamurthy Naidu, Chairman of the UGC committee  constituted to frame the regulations.

The regulations do not specify any quantum for the fee but say that the "fee structure for various programmes...shall also be fixed in accordance with the Regulations framed by the Commission."

The expert committee was appointed by the University Grants Commission in mid 2007. On November 30, 2007, the UGC decided to send a copy of draft regulations to vice-chancellors of all deemed universities, asking for comments and suggestions within 15 days. In December 2007 the Ministry of Human Resource Development sent a circular numbered F. 6-1(11)/2006(CPP-I) to all the stake-holders seeking their opinion on the proposed regulations.

The process took place over a year to finalise things and finally on January 27, 2009 the UGC approved the regulations and sent it to the HRD Ministry for the final seal of the union government.

The committee has provided for punitive action involving withdrawal of the deemed university status. It has also asked the institutions to implement the reservation policy in admission and recruitment as per directives of the Union government, Dr Naidu said.

According to the regulations the deemed universities should maintain the prescribed standards of instruction, academic and physical infrastructure, qualification of teachers, pay scales etc as mentioned by the UGC and it should have a valid accreditation from the National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) with at least B or equivalent grade.

“The Central Government/ UGC shall have the right to cause an inspection of the institution deemed to be university, its buildings, labs, examinations, teaching and other work conducted or done by the institution and to cause an enquiry to be made, if considered necessary, by the Centre/UGC, in respect of any matter of the institution deemed to be university,” the regulations said.

“If the commission is satisfied that the institution deemed to be university has violated any of the provisions of these regulations or any directives issued by the commission, the UGC may direct the concerned institution not to admit new students for the period to be decided by the commission and in case of deliberate and continuous violation of these regulations, may advise the Centre for withdrawal of the declaration notifying the institution as an institution deemed to be university, "it said.

For the first violation, the withdrawal might be restricted to one academic session which could be extended up to five academic sessions for repeated violations.

However, for serious and debate violations, the status will be withdrawn permanently.
 

Accreditation must for higher edu institutions

By Sanjiv Dube
NEW DELHI : All higher educational institutions in the country, except technical education one, will now have to get accredited under law.

The law, called the UGC (Mandatory Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education Institutions) Regulations 2012, were notified in the official gazette on February 19, and come into force with immediate effect.

The UGC Regulations 2012 say that all higher education institutions who fail to comply with the assessment and accreditation clause will be barred from financial aid granted by the UGC or the Ministry of Human Resource Development but says nothing of the private institutions who do not take or aspire to take any financial aid from the government. Nor do the Regulations say anything about institutions like the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM) who blatantly defy the UGC and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

The Regulation require that all higher education institutions (expect technical education colleges governed by the AICTE) apply for accreditation within a period of six months to the accreditation agencies namely the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, the National Board of Accreditation, and the National Accreditation Board currently recognised by the UGC.

The Regulations say that all institutions which have been in existence for six years or from where two batches of students have passed out (whichever is earlier) will need to seek accreditation within this stipulated time. Those that haven’t yet completed these criteria must apply within six months of completing six years of operation or passing out of two batches apply for accreditation.

The Regulations, says the notification, seeks to ensure that students can make informed choices about academic courses, institutions can raise quality and seek international recognition for which benchmarking is necessary. Hitherto, accreditation was voluntary in India and less than 10 per cent of all institutions are accredited.

The regulations will be applicable to all 44 Central universities,; about 300 state universities, over 100 deemed universities and over 33,000 colleges of which 6,000 are UGC funded.

Ved Prakash is UGC Chairman de jure
NEW DELHI : On January 18, the officiating chairman of the University Grants Commission, Dr Ved Prakash was formally appointed chairman of the organisation.

The appointment came after the government had set up afresh a search-cum-selection committee last September to shortlist a candidate for the post, sources said.

The contenders for the top post included India’s chief statistician T.C.A. Anant and Tata Institute of Social Sciences chief S. Parasuraman, they said.

The chairman’s post was vacant since S. Thorat retired in February 2011. Since then Mr. Prakash had been officiating as the chairman.

The selection of the chairman was delayed as the three-member search committee was dragging its feet without reaching any concrete conclusions because it was not sure about the eligibility criteria of candidates in general and the age clause in particular.

The UGC Act stipulates that the office of the UGC chairman shall be whole time and he/she shall “hold office for a term of five years or until he attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier''.

Accordingly, the UGC chairman had to be appointed on a whole time basis and for the full term. The provision does not allow for interpretation knowingly or deliberately that a person could be appointed chairman for a period, which will not be one term of five years.

The stipulation in the advertisement given by the HRD ministry on this subject mentioned, “...nominees should be preferably below the age of 60 years''.  This appeared to have also been guided by this principle. Non-adherence to this provision would tantamount to violation of the relevant stipulation in the UGC.

Curtailment of full term due to an intervening factor such as superannuation or some unforeseen reasons of exit from the position would be an exception and not a rule.

The HRD ministry's decision in the appointment of Prof SS Mantha as the chairman, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), last year supports the principle cited for the position of the UGC chairman.

UGC checks 53 pvt varsities, finds only 5 'in order'
NEW DELHI : Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister M.M.
Pallam Raju told Rajya Sabha on December 14 that only five out of 53 private universities inspected by the University Grants Commission (UGC) were found to be in order.

He said 53 of the total 145 private universities were inspected while replying to supplementaries during the question hour in the Rajya Sabha.

"Fifty-three universities were inspected to see how many were following UGC norms... five of these were found in order, and came clear," Raju said.

"Once we get some complaint, we inspect the university. We give them some time to rectify, but if even after that they do not follow regulations, they are asked to close," he said.

The minister added that the UGC, which looks after all non-technical education, had no power to shut down private universities. The UGC can only direct them to close courses against which complaints have been received, he explained.

Raju added that the passage of two pending bills in parliament, Educational Tribunal Bill and National Accreditation Regulatory Authority (NARA) for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, would help in further regulating private universities.

"I take this opportunity to urge the members to pass the bill for setting up a education tribunal and another one for an accreditation authority," Raju said.

The minister also accepted that there were weaknesses in the UGC and the government was trying to strengthen it.

UGC sets norms for tie-ups with foreign varsities

NEW DELHI : The University Grants Commission (Promotion and Maintenance of Standards of Academic Collaboration between Indian and Foreign educational Institutions) Regulations, 2012 approved in June will ensure that academic collaboration between Indian and foreign educational institutes followed the highest standards.

The regulations mandate that only institutes graded ‘A’ by the National Board of Accreditation or the National Assessment and Accreditation Council can
collaborate with foreign institutes, which, in turn, must figure in the list of top 500 global educational institutes, as ranked by the Times Higher
Education Rankings or the Shanghai Rankings.

Students will not only get a degree from the Indian institute where they are enrolled but also from the collaborating foreign institute, if it is inclined to
give one. No programme of study and research shall be offered which is against national security and territorial integrity of India.

The two institutions (Indian and its foreign collaborator) will have to enter into an agreement which will have to be approved by the UGC before it is
implemented. The approval will be valid for 5 years and the Commission may review the progress made and periodically inform the agencies concerned about the results of such a review. After the expiry of this period, the UGC may extend or withdraw the approval or impose such other conditions for extension, as may deem fit. The regulations make clear that no franchise arrangement will be allowed.

Existing tie-ups through the Indian institutions will have six months to meet the new eligibility criteria. In case they fail to do so, they will have to
terminate the agreements. Institutions that refuse to comply with the new regulations can lose UGC funding, de-recognition in case of a deemed university, and public notices announcing the ineligibility of the institution to enter into collaborations with foreign partners.

Disputes arising in relation to collaboration will be settled as per Indian laws.

As per a 2006 study by the Association of Indian Universities, over 340 institutes were offering courses in collaboration with foreign institutes. The UGC regulations seek to bring some order in area to protect students by ensuring that only genuine academic collaborations are encouraged.

UGC defers plan to allow entry of foreign varsities

Aarti Dhar
NEW DELHI : On June 2 the University Grants Commission (UGC) deferred a controversial proposal to allow the entry of foreign educational institutions within the existing legal framework. However, it gave ‘in principle approval' to regulations on collaborative and joint courses.

‘The Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill 2010,' is pending in Parliament as several parties are opposed to some of the
provisions which would allow foreign universities to operate in India. The Parliamentary Standing Committee has made several recommendations to the Bill and they were being considered by the government.

The move by the UGC was seen by some of the academic experts, who do not wish to be identified, as allowing the foreign universities to come in without a legislative framework. They are also of the view that such a move would be in violation of the provisions of the UGC Act, 1956.

The UGC approved ‘in principle' regulations on allowing twinning and joint degree programmes between the “top ranking foreign educational institutions and the best Indian universities.” Only the best universities of the country would be allowed to have tie-up with the internationally accredited 500 foreign universities and the courses would have to be completed in both universities.

As per the guidelines, foreign universities entering into tie-ups with Indian partners should be among the top 500 ranked by the Times Higher Education World University Ranking or by Shanghai Jiaotong University. The degrees will be granted by the Indian universities.

The Hindu had on Friday reported that the Human Resource Development Ministry was trying to identify possibilities of allowing the foreign educational
institutions into the country as it was finding it hard to push through the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010 in Parliament due to lack of numbers in Rajya Sabha.

The UGC called a special meeting and the only two items on the agenda had the possibility of allowing foreign educational institutions to enter as ‘deemed
universities' under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, or as private universities under the State laws, and drafting regulations on
twinning programmes and joint degree programmes.

According to informed sources, some members of the UGC strongly opposed the proposal to allow the foreign universities when a Bill was already pending in Parliament. Also the UGC Act, 1956 would not be applicable to foreign universities without amendments. “The UGC chairperson and the Higher Education Secretary concurred with the objections and agreed to defer the item,” UGC sources told The Hindu.

The panel members approved the regulations on joint programmes as it was felt it was necessary to curb the ‘fly-by-night' operators in the country. Once the regulations come into effect, such operators will have to wind up.

As of now, only technical and management courses of foreign institutions are allowed in India as they are regulated by the All India Council of Technical
Education (AICTE) Act. However, a large number of courses across the board are being conducted in an unregulated manner.

The UGC in 2003 mooted a proposal on regulation of entry and operation of foreign universities but did not pursue it after it was brought to the notice of
the UGC by its legal experts that the UGC Act does not permit regulation of foreign universities.

S. Vaidhyasubramaniam, Dean of Sastra University, said the decision to allow only top 500 foreign universities in collaborative mode was a good first step in the interest of the existing faculty crisis and poor research productivity in Indian higher education.

Such collaboration should begin with Post Graduate and Ph.D. programmes only, he said. (Courtesy : The Hindu)

Our Correspondent adds : The UGC move will end fleecing by fake foreign educational institutes operating from India. Over 631 are operating as of today without anyone knowing their credentials.

But now, any foreign educational institution which figures among the top 500 in global QS rankings or Times Higher Education Supplement rankings will be formally allowed to offer undergradute degrees like — BA, BSc, BTech etc — in India by entering into a collaboration with a top Indian university or college which has the highest accreditation grade back home. Indian colleges with Grade A accreditation from the National Board of Accreditation or NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) alone will be eligible to partner with foreign colleges.

This twinning arrangement was approved today by the Commission by way of a regulation called, "Promotion and Maintenance of Standards of Academic Collaboration between Indian and Foreign Educational Institutions". The regulation will be sent to the Ministry of HRD for notification after which any
Indian college can approach the UGC with a proposal to partner with the foreign college.

"The commission will screen the proposal before certifying it. The condition is that the degree awarded will have to be by the Indian education provider to
ensure our students are not harassed due to non-recognition. The two collaborators can work out the arrangements. They can split the duration of semesters between India and abroad. The foreign provider can award their degrees but the Indian degree would be an essential requirement," said Ved Prakash, Acting Chairman, UGC.

Importantly, the UGC will soon issue a public notice asking all existing foreign education providers and their Indian partners to fulfill the accreditation
norms required under the new regulations within six months.

Once the regulation is notified, the UGC will call for every Indian partner of foreign educational institutions to seek certification within six months.