The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : UGC plans to raise enrolment of students in higher education

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 27, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

UGC plans to raise enrolment of students in higher education

Nagesh Prabhu

BANGALORE: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has chalked out several plans to increase enrolment of students in higher education from 10 per cent in 2007 to 15 per cent in 2012.

Speaking to The Hindu, UGC chairman Sukhdeo Thorat said the UGC had decided to provide financial support to State governments and private educational institutions to set up more colleges in tribal and backward districts of the country to increase enrolment of students.

It had prepared an approach paper within the framework of the Eleventh Five Year Plan to increase the enrolment of students in higher education. Enrolment in institutions of higher education is about 10 per cent of the relevant age (17-23 years) group, which was low as compared to several developing countries (20-25 per cent), he said.

"The need for further expansion of the higher education system cannot be denied. What requires to be done is to provide necessary administrative, academic and financial support to existing institutions of higher education to maintain and improve the quality of education and to carefully plan the expansion of the system in accordance with well defined criteria," Mr. Thorat said.

He said the UGC had recommended to the Union Human Development Ministry to increase budgetary allocation for higher education from the present 0.4 per cent to one per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the 2007-08 budget. Increase in budgetary allocation was essential to increase access to graduate and postgraduate courses, he said. An Oversight Committee headed by the former Chief Minister M. Veerappa Moily had recommended Rs. 17,000 crore for higher education in the Eleventh Five Year Plan.

At present, 6,000 colleges and university departments were being funded by the UGC. There were plans to bring the remaining (about 8,000) colleges also within UGC's purview in the future, Mr. Thorat said.

The UGC had identified educationally backward districts based on low enrolment in higher education and number of colleges per a lakh population. It had decided to hike development grants to colleges and universities located in backward districts. The grant would help colleges to develop infrastructure and quality of education, he said.

The UGC, which had been offering fellowships to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students in arts disciplines, had now decided to provide scholarships to 600 students of science disciplines every year. Eighteen Central universities had also been offering scholarships to meritorious students. "Nearly 90 per cent of students in Central universities have been receiving fellowships," he said.

The Veerappa Moily committee had recommended 27 per cent quota for OBCs in higher education from the coming academic year (2007-08). "The UGC will provide support to implement the 27 per cent quota," he added.

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