Panel formed for UGC, AICTE to work together on higher education policies

In a development that sets the stage for establishment of the proposed Higher Education Commission of India (HECI), a committee has been set up to prepare a roadmap for University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) to work together as a single regulatory entity.

The committee, set up by UGC chairperson Prof M Jagadesh Kumar, will initially identify areas where the two regulators can work with a common approach towards drawing up policies and regulations.

The development comes at a time when the government is planning to introduce the Bill to set up HECI in the winter session of Parliament.

“The idea is to prepare the system to adapt to a situation where HECI will be the overarching body of higher education,” Prof Kumar informed a news source.

He was given additional charge of AICTE after the retirement of Prof Anil Sahasrabudhe, who has been made the first chief of National Educational Technology Forum (NETF). The Centre is envisioning NETF as a one-stop platform to roll out technological interventions in school and higher education.