Aligarh Muslim University, Allahabad University among `non-performers'
NEW DELHI: The government suspects that some of the country's most prestigious universities are underperforming and has, hence, asked the University Grants Commission (UGC) to audit them for academic and research quality.
The Union ministry of HRD has identified a number of “nonperforming“ centrally funded institutions, and of these, 11 will undergo the audit, according to a senior ministry official.
Aligarh Muslim University , Allahabad University , Pondicherry University and Central University of Jammu are among the 11 universities to undergoaudit. The other seven varsities are Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University , Central University of Jharkhand, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University at Lucknow, Central University of Rajasthan, Dr Hari Singh Gour University at Sagar, Tripura University and Mahatma Gandhi Antarashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya.
“The list has been forwarded and UGC has been asked to conduct the audit as soon as possible.No specific time frame has been set. The UGC will first set the criteria for the audit and then the process will commence. The broad mandate of the audit is to assess academic quality , research activities and research output,“ said the official.
A three-member team has been constituted to monitor the audit. According to UGC sources, the audit will include output and quality of research, students' results, and placement records wherever applicable.
The team is also working on other criteria and is likely to apprise the ministry about them.
“There is an urgent need to look at the universities and their performance. Academic and research quality at the universities reflect the quality of education in the country . There will be various other factors, such as frequency of review of courses, new courses, and how relevant current campus research is, which will be taken in to account,“ said a senior UGC official. “The idea is to find out if the return on investment is being justified and whether students are getting the kind of education for which they come to these universities,“he added.
Sources said there are likely to be more “non-performing universities“ and the audit could be extended once they were identified.“The audit is likely to start by the end of March, or in April 2017 and will end depending on how much time will be needed,“ he said.
The Union ministry of HRD has identified a number of “nonperforming“ centrally funded institutions, and of these, 11 will undergo the audit, according to a senior ministry official.
Aligarh Muslim University , Allahabad University , Pondicherry University and Central University of Jammu are among the 11 universities to undergoaudit. The other seven varsities are Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University , Central University of Jharkhand, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University at Lucknow, Central University of Rajasthan, Dr Hari Singh Gour University at Sagar, Tripura University and Mahatma Gandhi Antarashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya.
“The list has been forwarded and UGC has been asked to conduct the audit as soon as possible.No specific time frame has been set. The UGC will first set the criteria for the audit and then the process will commence. The broad mandate of the audit is to assess academic quality , research activities and research output,“ said the official.
A three-member team has been constituted to monitor the audit. According to UGC sources, the audit will include output and quality of research, students' results, and placement records wherever applicable.
The team is also working on other criteria and is likely to apprise the ministry about them.
“There is an urgent need to look at the universities and their performance. Academic and research quality at the universities reflect the quality of education in the country . There will be various other factors, such as frequency of review of courses, new courses, and how relevant current campus research is, which will be taken in to account,“ said a senior UGC official. “The idea is to find out if the return on investment is being justified and whether students are getting the kind of education for which they come to these universities,“he added.
Sources said there are likely to be more “non-performing universities“ and the audit could be extended once they were identified.“The audit is likely to start by the end of March, or in April 2017 and will end depending on how much time will be needed,“ he said.
