Govt fails to establish Higher Education Council even after Legislature’s approval

Non-application of mind during preliminary exercise leads to delay
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, July 3: Government has failed to establish Jammu and Kashmir State Higher Education Council even after the approval by Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council thereby creating hurdles in ensuring comprehensive and holistic evolution of higher education sector besides showing disrespect to the Legislature.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that as per the guidelines of Rashtriya Uchchattar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, the State needs to set up Higher Education Council through an executive order to begin with but must be converted into statutory body by Act of the State Legislature for enforcing planning, monitoring, evaluation and quality assurance in universities and other higher education institutions.
In compliance to these guidelines, the Jammu and Kashmir State Higher Education Council Bill, 2018 was introduced in the Legislature in the month of February this year and after debate both the Houses (Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council) cleared the Bill and paved the way for establishment of Higher Education Council with sufficient powers to ensure comprehensive and holistic evolution of higher education sector.
However, even several months after the Legislature’s approval the Government has failed to establish Higher Education Council by way of issuance of formal notification mainly because of lack of coordination between the Higher Education and Finance Departments, sources informed.
Following Legislature’s approval the Higher Education Department worked out a proposal regarding the manpower required to be placed at the disposal of Higher Education Council and submitted the same to the Finance Department for concurrence.
“However, the decision of Finance Department on creation of posts for the Council is still awaited”, sources said, adding “for want of single stroke of pen of Finance Department establishment of Higher Education Council is facing inordinate delay even after the Legislature’s approval”.
They further said, “not only Finance Department even those at the helm of affairs in the Higher Education Department are responsible for the prevailing situation as manpower required for making Higher Education Council functional should have been worked out at the time of drafting of the Bill and reflected in the Memorandum of Financial Implications”.
On the contrary, it was mentioned in the Memorandum of Financial Implications appended to the Bill that there was no need of creation of staff as well as infrastructure, sources further informed.
When contacted, a senior officer of the Higher Education Department, while confirming that establishment of Higher Education Council was getting delayed for want of clearance of proposal vis-à-vis creation of posts, said, “it is true that non-application of mind at the time of framing of Bill has led to the prevailing situation”.
He, however, expressed inability to specify time-frame for formally establishing Higher Education Council as mandated under the guidelines of Union Ministry of Human Resource Development.
The dilly-dallying approach towards establishment of Higher Education Council is notwithstanding  the fact that it has to render advice to the Government, State Universities, Private Universities and other institutions of higher education in the State for a comprehensive and holistic evolution of higher education sector; strategize and steer the expansion of higher education; evolve new concepts and programmes in higher education; provide academic input to the Government and to universities, research institutions and other centres of higher education and undertake or cause to undertake independent research for the generation of new ideas for the promotion of social justice and academic excellence.
Moreover, the Higher Education Council is supposed to undertake or cause to undertake human resources development planning and plan the growth and development of higher education; suggest improvements in curriculum and syllabi in accordance with the changing societal and academic requirement and facilitate the development and publication of appropriate teaching material and advise the Government on the start of new courses, colleges and other higher education institutions in the State.
It is pertinent to mention here that at present seven Universities, 96 Government Degree Colleges and 208 private BEd, Law and Degree Colleges besides two Agriculture Universities, two Central Universities and two Cluster Universities are functioning in the State.

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