NEW DELHI: Seeking to address apprehensions that the government may take over grant-giving powers in the process of replacing University Grants Commission (UGC) with a higher education regulatory authority, the
Centre said no final decision had been taken on the recommendation of an expert committee, which is part of the draft bill.
The ministry for human resource development said the draft bill is open for feedback till July 7 and that the effort was to ensure decisions on grants in a transparent and meritorious manner.
The ministry last week put up the draft of the Higher Education Commission of India (
HECI) bill seeking to repeal the UGC Act, 1951 which said the new commission will solely focus on academic matters while monetary grants will be under the purview of the ministry.
Academicians questioned the move saying politicians should not be involved in academic matters. “The grant-giving process shall be merit-based, online, objective system with least human interface,” a senior HRD ministry official said.