Government has ‘usurped’ UGC’s autonomy by curbing financial powers

Government has ‘usurped’ UGC’s autonomy by curbing financial powers

Subject: Polity

Sec: National Body

Context:

Narendra Modi government for interfering with the autonomy of the University Grants Commission (UGC) by “usurping” its power to sanction funds for higher education.

More on News:

• UGC’s functioning of ‘Granting’ funds has been usurped by Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) — a venture between Canara Bank and the Ministry of Education.
• This will not only compel colleges and universities to introduce more self-financing courses but also increase the financial woes of SC, ST, OBC and EWS students.
• The budget for higher education has been slashed by ₹9,600 crore. Similarly, the budget for IITs and IIMs have been cut for the second consecutive year.
• The UGC is a statutory body, and was supposed to be the only grant-giving agency in the country, but has snatched its power, thereby trampling upon its autonomy!

University Grants Commission (UGC):

• Founder: Maulana Azad
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• University Grants Commission is a statutory body under Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India.
• It was set up in accordance to the UGC Act 1956.
• It has six regional centre in Pune, Bhopal, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Guwahati and Bangalore.
• A proposal to replace it with another new regulatory body called HECI is under consideration by the Government of India.
• The UGC provides doctoral scholarships to all those who clear JRF in the National Eligibility Test.

Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA):

• HEFA was founded in May 2017, and is a joint venture between the Union Ministry of Education and Canara Bank, with agreed-upon equity participation in the ratios of 91% and 09.09%, respectively.
• As a non-deposit-taking NBFC and as a Union Government entity. Under the Companies Act of 2013, HEFA is registered with the RBI

Vision:

• To enable India’s premier educational institutions to excel and reach the top in global rankings by financing building world class infrastructure including R&D Infra.

Responsibilities:

• To finance the demand, it will mobilise market resources in the form of equity from people and corporations, as well as the issuing of bonds.
• It offers financial help for the development of educational facilities and research and development in India’s best educational institutions.
• Encourages scientific and technical advancements by providing funding for R&D facilities to perform high-quality research.
• Channel corporate social responsibility (CSR) contributions and donations for different initiatives aimed at improving higher education.