More funds needed for hiking enrolment

Hyderabad, Jan 18 (UNI) The country requires a minimum of Rs 47,000 to Rs 74,000 crore during the 11th plan period, to hike enrolment by five per cent in higher education institutions, University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Sukhadeo Thorat said while delivering the 15th Convocation address at Dr B R Ambedkar Open University here today.

Referring to the findings of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), he said about one-third of universities and about 10 per cent of colleges were of 'A' grade quality and rest fell into the 'B' and 'C' grades and attributed this to 'neglect' of higher education particulary by the states in the 1990's.

He said if the country had to increase the enrolment, in higher education institutions, from 10 per cent to 15 per cent by the end of the 11th plan period, as targetted by the Planning Commission, the allocation for higher education had to be stepped by more than one per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He also stressed the need for investing in physical and academic infrastructure in state universities and colleges.

While the UGC supported only 40 per cent of the colleges, about 85,000 colleges in the country were without proper assessment for quality, he lamented, underscoring the need for bringing them under the UGC fold.

Pointing out that there were disparities in availability of educational institutes, he said Central Universities were concentrated only in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and north-eastern states. ''The distribution of state university is also skewed. Same is the story of deemed university, heavy concentration in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu,'' he added.

Noting that extent of enrollment was low in rural areas compared to urban areas, he said it was low among SCs, STs and OBCs. The enrolment was low among females (8 per cent) compared to males (10 per cent).

Among the religious groups, enrolment was low among Muslims and Hindus when compared to Jains, Sikhs and Christians.

In all 10,413 candidates awarded degrees or diplomas or certificates by Chancellor and Andhra Pradesh Governor Rameshwar Thakur.

UNI