DEEMED UNIVERSITY STATUS

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The University Grants Commission (UGC) released its draft UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2022, that will replace the 2019 regulations.

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The draft regulations create a new category of institutions, known as “distinct institutions”.
- It will be exempted from the eligibility criteria that are laid down for other higher education institutions to receive the status of “Deemed to be University”.
- They will not be required to comply with the requirement of a teacher-student ratio of 1:20.
- These institutions;
  - Focus on teaching and research in the special discipline.
  - Addressing the strategic needs of the country.
  - Engaged in the preservation of Indian cultural heritage.
  - Preservation of the environment.
  - Dedicated to skill development.
  - Dedicated to sports or languages or any other disciplines.
- Institutions with at least a 3.01 CGPA for 3 consecutive cycles or ranking among the top 50 or top 100 given by the National Institute Ranking Framework.
- A cluster of government or private institutions can also apply for the status.
- Now, the UGC, and not the Union Ministry of Education, will be the authority for granting permission to a “Deemed to be University” to set up an off-campus centre.

Related News

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) competing for the tag ‘Deemed to be university’.
- NCERT is an autonomous academic body set up in 1961 to assist and advise the Union and State Governments on policies and programmes related to school education.
NCERT recently applied to the University Grants Commission (UGC) for the “deemed university” status. The proposal will be discussed at a meeting of the Executive Committee (EC).
- The EC is the highest decision-making body of NCERT and is chaired by the Union Education Minister.
According to the official sources, the ‘Deemed to be University’ status would allow NCERT to offer its graduate, post-graduate and doctoral degrees and have autonomy in terms of the introduction of programmes, course structure, conducting examinations and management, among others.

University Grants Commission (UGC)

University Grants Commission is a statutory body under the University Grants Commission Act, of 1956.
UGC is charged with the task of coordinating and maintaining standards of higher education in India.
It provides recognition to universities and also allocates funds to universities and colleges.
UGC headquarters are in New Delhi, and it also has 6 regional centres.
All grants to universities and higher learning institutions are handled by the UGC.
In 2015-16, the Union government initiated a National Institutional Ranking Framework under UGC to rank all educational institutes.
UGC also conducts the National Eligibility Test (NET) for the appointments of teachers in colleges and universities.
M Jagadesh Kumar is the current chairman of the UGC.
Recently, the UGC has released the guidelines for transforming colleges and universities into multidisciplinary institutions and also suggested “clustering” of facilities located in closeness to each other.
- The UGC has also suggested academic collaboration between institutions to promote research in online and offline modes.
- Promoting multidisciplinary institutions was one of the key recommendations of the National Education Policy, 2020.
- These guidelines aim to aid State governments and universities to frame relevant rules and policies.
- The cluster system will help institutions in improving their grades in National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) accreditation.
- Institutions need to design their timetable in cooperation with partner institutions so that students could register easily.
- The partner colleges would share their resources and guide student in research projects.
- The University Grants Commission (UGC) suggested a capacity-building programme for faculty through initiatives like Annual Refresher Programme, learning assessment tools, etc, so that they can teach, train and research in multidisciplinary academic programmes.
- The UGC suggested setting up Education Departments in universities and colleges that will assist in curriculum creation and establishing communication among teachers and students of partner colleges.