New Delhi: Ten educational institutions each in the public and private sectors would be supported to make them world-class, HRD Minister Smriti Irani said today, as Rajya Sabhamembers expressed concern that Indian institutions did not figure in the global top ranking list.
She also said that national ranking framework was being designed and some standards being set up for Indian institutions, with over 5,000 of them adding themselves to the framework.
Irani said the government has announced in the latest budget that 10 institutions each in the public and private sectors will be supported to make them world class.
Replying to a private member’s bill seeking to regulate private professional educational institutions moved by CPI(M) member K K Ragesh, she said “unfortunately, many in this House and across the country will accept that education has become more or less a pursuit of certification and less about pursuit of excellence.”
Regarding the exorbitant fees charged particularly by the private engineering and other colleges, she said a regulatory mechanism was already in place to keep a check on such institutions and the issue was being further addressed in the proposed New Education Policy (NEP).
She also said that UGC had last year identified 21 fake universities in the country and a public notice was put up warning students about them.
“Irrespective of us giving strict guidelines, if any violation brought to our notice, the regulator in the state concerned does take action against those institutions. There is a measure already in place,” Irani said.
To ensure that technical courses are offered at lower fees for disadvantaged communities, she said the government would launch ‘SWAYAM’, a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platform from the next academic year.
(PTI)
