Knowledge panel for liberalising higher education regime

New Delhi, Jan 10 (UNI) The Knowledge Commission, headed by architect of the country's telecom revolution Sam Pitroda, has recommended a strong dose of liberalisation in the regulatory regime for higher education.

It favours splitting large universities into smaller one and a drastic cut in the powers of the University Grants Commission.

Besides, it has called for setting up an independent regulatory authority for institutions of higher learning.

It is for making the procedure for setting up new univeristies and colleges more flexible.

These recommendations find place in the Commission's report on higher education to be presented to the PMO on January 12, sources in the Commission told UNI.

Since expansion of higher education has been the main concern of the Commission, it has sought to achieve this objective by creation of smaller universities and splitting larger universities which had become unwieldy, the soucres said.

It is of the view that large universities had become outdated and were not able to manage their academic affairs because of their size.

Out of a large number of colleges, some can be grouped together and given autonomy in their academic affairs, the Report has suggested.

The independent regulatory authority may give licence to various accreditation agenencies to make the the process more transparent and competitive.

The Commission has recommended a significant cut in the powers of the University Grants Commission and wants its power to be limited to just giving grants to universities.

It has made strong case for making the procedure of seting up institutions of higher learning more flexible, arguing that unless that happens, the process of expansion of higher education cannot gain desired momentum.

The Knowledge Commision is a high-level advisory body to the Prime Minister. It has been mandated to guide policy and direct reforms, focusing on certain key areas such as education, science and technology, agriculture, industry, e-governance etc.

Easy access to knowledge, creation and preservation of knowledge systems, dissemination of knowledge and better knowledge services are core concerns of the commission.

The Commission was constituted on June 30, 2005 with a time-frame of three years.

UNI