UGC releases draft rules for funding of colleges
The draft guidelines have been prepared in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020
In order to receive government funding, colleges must have accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, participate in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) and fill up to 75% of sanctioned teaching posts, India’s higher education regulator University Grants Commission (UGC) has proposed.
The higher education regulatory released draft guidelines titled UGC (Fitness of Colleges for Receiving Grants) Rules, 2024, on Friday, and sought suggestions from stakeholders on the same.
The draft guidelines have been prepared in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and they seek to replace 1975 rules that are currently in place.
According to the draft guidelines, a college to which these rules apply will be declared to be fit to receive grants from the central government, the UGC, or any other organisation receiving funds from the central government, only if the UGC is satisfied that the college fulfills the proposed conditions.
The proposed conditions included valid accreditation from NAAC, ranked in the NIRF ranking in the respective category, and at least 60% of the total eligible programs by the colleges get accreditation from National Board of Accreditation (NBA), among others.
The colleges will have to an undertaking duly endorsed by the universities they are affiliated with that not less than 75% of the sanctioned teaching posts are filled up at the time of submission of application, teachers are paid as per UGC, state government, relevant regulatory authority norms, and the reservation policy is followed, according to the policy of central or the state government.
The colleges will also submit an undertaking to comply with all the rules, regulations, directions, notices and circulars issued by the UGC from time to time, the proposed guidelines added.
The commission also proposed to tighten the fee rule and said that the college charges from the students only the fees prescribed by the appropriate authority at the central/state level/university/ college or as per law in force.
Besides, under the draft guidelines, the college affiliated or recognised by a university, will submit an undertaking to refund unused part of the grant.
Some teachers at Delhi University raised concerns over the draft guidelines. They are an assault on the administrative autonomy of the colleges, alleged the Academics for Action and Development, a university teachers’ group. “Mandatory accreditation by NAAC/NBA is a tool to privatize the colleges,” it said.
The group also objected to the refunding of unused portions of state grants. “The clause mandates refund of the unused budgetary allocations with strict timeline, which otherwise provide leverage to a university/college to meet its infrastructural/other contingent needs,” it said.
