University Grants Commission
Students in central universities may now have to pay higher fees and more as the University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked the institutions to figure out ways to generate “funds from other resources”. This directive is part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the central universities and autonomous bodies will have to sign up with the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and the UGC.
A July 11 letter sent to the UGC by the ministry states: “The department of expenditure, Ministry of Finance, has asked MHRD to finalise MoU with the respective central universities.” Attached with the letter is a set of forms where the universities will have to spell out the “performance parameters, output targets in terms of details of programme of work and qualitative improvement in output.”
A performance evaluation of the universities will be conducted every quarter against this MoU. This will have to be placed before every university’s executive council — its highest statutory body — after which it will be sent to the UGC along with recommendations. “A joint review by the central university, MHRD and UGC shall be carried out within 90 days of completion of the financial year. The result of the joint review shall be placed before the executive council and hosted prominently on the website,” states the draft MoU, a copy of which is with The Indian Express.
The other section of the form is called the Financial Commitment of MHRD and Other Sources of Revenue. The section is divided into three heads. The third head says that the universities will raise funds from other sources: “user charge in form of fees, user charges other than the fees, alumni donation, extra mural funding from other departments/ministries of government of India, extra mural funding from other resources and other resources not covered above”. This, teachers in universities say, is problematic and leading towards privatisation.
