UGC releases updated draft for development of education institutes
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has released an updated draft of guidelines for higher education institutions (HEIs) in India. The guidelines include recommendations for private sector partnerships to raise funds, a ranking system for faculty members, the creation of "emotional infrastructure," and an increase in undergraduate seats to generate higher revenues. The UGC aims to help universities and colleges plan for academic, administrative, and financial self-reliance through these guidelines.
New Delhi The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Wednesday released an updated draft of its guidelines to prepare an Institutional Development Plan (IDP) for higher education institutions (HEIs), making new recommendations including private sector partnerships for raising funds, a ranking system for faculty members, creation of “emotional infrastructure”, and increasing undergraduate seats for higher revenues.
The first draft IDP guidelines were released by the commission in January last year seeking suggestions from stakeholders. UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar said that the revised draft released on Wednesday aims to help universities and colleges plan for academic, administrative, and financial self-reliance.
According to the guidelines, the HEIs must identify and prioritise the sources of funding for the development of financial infrastructure such as government grants, alumni donations, private sector partnerships, and fund-raising campaigns.
They further suggested the HEIs, including both public and private, should work on a “sustainable revenue model” where the revenues are derived from sources including tuition fee from students, government grants and subsidies, overheads earned on the sponsored research and development projects from the government and the private sector, and endowments.
The guidelines also suggested other income sources including philanthropic contributions such as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), royalties on intellectual property (IP)/patents, etc.
“In a fully developed HEI, each of these sources must contribute about a similar percentage to the total revenue, depending on the size of the HEIs. Therefore, HEIs must also focus on expanding their undergraduate programmes as additional students mean more revenue,” the draft guidelines stated.
The draft guidelines also recommended a “faculty ranking or assessment” based on research-based Academic Performance Indicators (API) scores and subsequent additional incentives to motivate teachers.
“Faculty members generate a winning spirit and constantly strive for excellence when their annual API rankings are announced and they are graded according to different levels. Faculty oversight at every stage can be reduced in such scenarios,” the guidelines stated.
Meanwhile, the draft norms also suggested the HEIs to create “emotional infrastructure” by providing a good working environment for all stakeholders with ethical policies and a transparent academic and administrative system and taking extra care in all service areas of both higher education and research activities.
The commission, however, has also clarified that the guidelines will be indicative. “It is imperative that the autonomy of the institutes is maintained while developing and operationalising such a plan. Therefore, the IDP guidelines are self-regulating in nature,” it said.
