India: Govt nod for an overarching higher education body

New Delhi, Dec 21 (PTI) The Indian government has given its nod for the establishment of a National Commission of Higher Education and Research (NCHER) as an overarching higher education body in the country to oversee universities and technical institutes. The NCHER will subsume all existing regulatory bodies, including University Grants Commission, All India Council for Technical Education and Council of Distance Education. The Indian Cabinet's approval Tuesday paves the way for introduction of the Higher Education and Research Bill in Parliament shortly. According to sources, the Bill is a step forward to promote autonomy of higher educational institutions. The body, according to them, will comprise 70 members, with representatives from every state and regulatory bodies. The proposal for the establishment of the NCHER has its origin in the address of the President to Parliament on June, 4, 2009 where the government declared its intent to establish an overarching body in higher education to reform the current regulatory structure. The proposal was based on the recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission and Prof Yash Pal Committee. Prof Yash Pal Committee had recommended NCHER to replace the existing regulatory bodies. NCHER will cover all areas and disciplines, including general, technical and professional education, and according to sources, also some research components in the field of medicine. Earlier, the setting up of NCHER had run into rough weather when the Human Resources Development Ministry announced taking over the medical education under the bill. The Ministry of Health had opposed it and approached the Cabinet for clearance of a National Commission for Human Resources for Health (NCHRH) Bill. PTI