Rs 335 crore approved for higher education

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), the national higher education mission programme, has approved project proposals worth Rs 335 crore for development of higher education sector in the state for a period of four years from 2017.

The focus of RUSA 2.0 is on challenge-level funding (CLF) to institutions and states based on a set of conditionalities. During the first round of funding (2014-17), state projects worth around Rs 178 crore were approved. Out of it, it received around Rs 144 crore so far.

Strict conditions set by RUSA for providing funding to higher education institutions and some stubborn stands followed by the state in the higher education sector had prevented the state from even claiming funds out of the major programme heads of RUSA. Nonetheless, the major beneficiaries of RUSA’s second round of funding (2017-20) in the state would be close to hundred aided colleges in the state.

The ministry of human resources development, based on the state higher education department’s application, has approved Rs 210 crore for 105 colleges, of which 96 are in aided sector and others in government. Each college would get Rs 2 crore each. The grant is being given to colleges having national assessment and accreditation council’s (NAAC) score- between 2.5 to 3.5-for infrastructure development. The state government had recommended 137 aided colleges for the grant. The RUSA grant works on a 60:40 percent ratio between Central and the state governments.

Five autonomous colleges, all in aided sector, have become eligible for a grant of Rs 5 crore each for enhancing their quality and excellence. The colleges that have been qualified for the funding are Rajagiri College of Social Science, Ernakulam, Marian College, Kuttikkanam, Idukki, St Joseph’s College, Devagiri. Kozhikode, Farook College, Kozhikode, Mar Athanasios College, Kothamangalam, Ernakulam.

The third and final category of funding that the higher education institutions in the state have netted was for the programme for ‘research, innovation and quality improvement’ at universities.MG University and Cusat figured in the list of colleges that receive more than Rs 50 crore each.

However, the two universities in the state could claim the funds after RUSA agreed to lower the NAAC rating. As per the original schedule, only grade II universities, with NAAC rating of 3.26 and above was eligible for the fund. The minimum rating was then lowered to 3. While MG University’s NAAC rating is 3.24, that of CUSAT is only 3.06.