Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) will be an Independent Body: Javadekar
- Mr. Prakash Javadekar revealed that the proposed HECI would not cause any disputes with regard to the rights of the states.
- HRD Ministry is in the process of finalising the draft Higher Education Commission of India Bill 2018.
Union HRD Minister, Mr. Prakash Javadekar informed Lok Sabha that the proposedHigher Education Commission of India (HECI)will be an independent body and the rights of states will not be challenged. The announcement from the Minister comes after various concerns raised by experts on replacing UGC with HECI. He further informed thatHECIwould focus on improving the standards ofhigher education in India.
Mr. Prakash Javadekar explained that HECI would not be a government ministry but an independent body/ organisation. The government is not intended to convert HCEI into abureaucratic organisationand it will remain independent, he added.
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Responding to the questions of some of the members, Mr. Javadekar clarified that there would be two commissions. The first commission will concentrate on providing grants while the second commission will carry out regulatory functions. When the UGC was set up in 1956, there were only 20 universities, 500 colleges and 2 lakh students in India. At present, there are40,000 colleges,900 universitiesand 3.5 crore students. Therefore, constituting HECI is necessary for the overall development, he explained.
Javadekar further confirmed that there would be no change in the existing reservation policies for SC, OBC and others.
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Based on the feedback received ondraft HECI Act, HRD Ministry is in the process of finalising the draft Higher Education Commission of India Bill 2018. The ministry had received over 10,000 suggestions on thedraft HECI Bill.