Knowledge Comm favours a fee structure meeting 20 per cent costs

New Delhi, Aug 20 (UNI) The Government today told the Rajya Sabha it was yet to consider the recommendation of the Knowledge Commission that the fee structure at the University level should meet at least 20 per cent of the total expenditure of the institutes.

Answering Mr A Vijayaraghavan, Minister of State for Human Resources D Purandeshwari said, in a written reply, that the Supreme Court had directed each state to set up a committee headed by a retired High Court Judge to approve the fee structure or to propose some other fee to be charged by the educational institution.

The University Grants Commission also notified the regulations for fixation of fees from time to time. It had also constituted a Committee in August with regard to admissions for fee and self-financing, private professional institutions including deemed universities, aided universities and colleges.

In respect of Adult Education, the Commission was for holding wide consultations and internal deliberations and research for preparing a set of recommendations to the government.

The Minister said that the Knowledge Commission had recommended establishing 50 National Universities to provide education of the highest standard. The recommendations of the Commission were in the public domain for wider debate among all stake holders.

Answering Mr Sitaram Yechury, Mrs Purandeswari said the government was considering a legislative proposal on the entry and operations of foreign educational institutions in the country.

Presently the government had allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment on the automatic route in education sector. The matter relating to entry of foreign educational institutions in the country was discussed at a conference of State Ministers for Higher and Technical Education at Bangalore in 2005. There was opposition from the All India Federation of College Teachers Associaiton to these foreign universities, she said.

To a question of Mr V Hanumantha Rao, the minister said the government was was considering the proposal to establish 30 new Central Universities subject to availability of funds by the year 2014. This would help to address the concerns of quality access and quality higher education, she said.

UNI