UGC panel to work on improving enrollment ratio: Thorat

Mangalore, Feb 16 (UNI) The University Grants Commission (UGC) has constituted a committee to prepare an action plan for increasing Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in higher education from the current ten per cent to 15 per cent by the end of XI Five Year Plan, UGC Chairman Sukhdev Thorat today said.

Delivering the convocation address on 'Strategy and Action Plan for Development under New Initiative in the IX Plan' at the 26th Convocation of Mangalore University at Konaje, on the outskirts of the city, Prof Thorat said the higher enrollment ratio during 2008-12 will be realised through a dual strategy of establishment of universities and colleges and enhancing intake capacity of existing institutions.

In the meantime, the UGC had issued detailed guidelines to all Central, State and deemed universities urging them to initiate the process of academic reforms on priority basis.

Universities have also been advised to evolve an effective mechanism for revising their curricula on a regular basis and to implement a uniform academic calendar to ensure that no student suffered due to delays in declaration of results, he added.

The Ministry of Human Resources Development had already constituted a committee under the UGC Chairman to prepare an action plan and workout the modalities for drafting laws for the proposed Central universities, Prof Thorat said.

Central Administrative Reform Commission Chairman M Veerappa Moily and Badminton Player Prakash Padukone were among those conferred with an Honorary Doctorate by the University on the occasion.

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