National Commission for Higher Education

THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH BILL, 2010.

An Act to provide for the determination, co-ordination, maintenance of standards in, and promotion of, higher education and research, including university education, technical and professional education other than agricultural [and medical] education, and for that purpose, to establish the National Commission for Higher Education and Research.

An Act further to promote the autonomy of higher educational institutions for the free pursuit of knowledge and innovation, and for facilitating access, inclusion and opportunities to all, and providing for comprehensive and holistic growth of higher education and research in a competitive global environment through reforms and renovation; and to provide for an advisory mechanism of eminent peers in academia .

NATIONAL COMMISSION OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

Establishment of National Commission of Higher Education and Research. -

(1) The Central Government shall, by notification, establish, for the purposes of this Act, a Commission to be called the “National Commission for Higher Education and Research”.

(2) The Commission shall be a body corporate by the name aforesaid, having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power, subject to the provisions of this Act, to acquire, hold and dispose off property, both movable and immovable , and to contract, and shall, by the said name, sue or be sued.

(3) The head office of the Commission shall be at New Delhi.

Appointment of Chairperson and Members of Commission. –

(1) The Commission shall consist of a Chairperson and six other Members.

(2) The office of the Chairperson and three other Members shall be whole-time and salaried.

(3) The Chairperson and the other whole-time Members shall be scholars being persons of eminence and standing in the field of academics and research possessing leadership abilities, proven capacity for institution building and governance of institutions of higher learning and research.

(4) The Members other than the whole-time Members shall be persons of eminence with high academic credentials with proven contribution to economic and social development and experience of engagement with institutions of higher learning and research.

(5) The Chairperson and other Members shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a Selection Committee consisting of—

(i) the Prime Minister, who shall be the Chairperson of the Committee;

(ii) the Speaker of Lok Sabha; and

(iii) the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha; and

(iv) [the Minister in charge of Higher Education in the Government of India;

(v) the Minister in charge of Medical Education in the Government of India].

(6) The Selection Committee shall make its recommendation from a panel of three names, submitted by the Collegium under clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 19, for each vacancy.

(7) The Selection Committee shall devise its own procedure for assessing the suitability of the person from the panel of names referred to in sub-section (6) to be recommended to the President for appointment.

(8) Every appointment under this section shall take effect from the date on which it is notified in the Official Gazette by the Central Government.

(9) The Chairperson or other Member shall, before entering office make and subscribe before the President or some other person appointed by the President in that behalf, an oath of affirmation.

Resignation and removal of Chairperson and Members. -

(1) The Chairperson or any Member may, by notice in writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign from office.

(2) The President may remove from office the Chairperson or any Member, who—–

(a) has been adjudged an insolvent; or

(b) has engaged, at any time during his term of office, in any paid employment outside the duties of his office; or

(c) has become physically or mentally incapable of acting as such Chairperson or other Member; or

(d) is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court; or

(e) has been convicted of an offence which, in the opinion of the President, involves moral turpitude; or

(f) has acquired such financial or other interest as is likely to affect prejudicially the exercise of his functions as such Chairperson or other Member; or

(g) has so abused his position as to render his continuance in office prejudicial to the public interest; or

(h) has been guilty of proved misbehavior; or

(i) has such other disqualifications as may be prescribed:

Term of office of Chairperson and Members. -

(1) A person appointed as Chairperson and other Members shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office:

Provided that whole-time Members shall cease to hold office on attaining the age of seventy years.

(2) The Central Government shall, to the extent possible, initiate the process of appointment in respect of any vacancy due to arise on the post of Chairperson or other Member before a period of six months from the date of arising of such vacancy.

(3) The Central Government shall ensure that the process of appointment in respect of any vacancy on the post of Chairperson or other Members is completed within a period of six months from the date such vacancy had arisen.

Prohibition as to holding of office by Chairperson or other Member on ceasing to be such Chairperson or Members. -

On ceasing to hold office, the Chairperson or other Member shall be ineligible, for a period of five years from the date on which they cease to hold office, for further employment in, or, in matters related to, any higher educational institution under the Central Government or a State Government or any private higher educational institution.

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION

(1) The Commission shall, subject to the provisions of this Act and regulations made thereunder, take measures to promote the autonomy of higher educational institutions for the free pursuit of knowledge and innovation, and for facilitating access, inclusion and opportunities to all, and providing for comprehensive and holistic growth of higher education and research in a competitive global environment, through reforms and renovation.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions, the measures referred to in sub-section (1), may, inter alia, provide for all or any of the following matters, namely;

(a) Specify norms and standards for grant of authorization, to a university or an higher educational institution empowered, by or under law, to award any degree or diploma, to commence its first academic operations;

(b) Develop, from time to time, a national curriculum framework with specific reference to new or emerging or inter-disciplinary fields of knowledge and to provide a vision and guide universities in recognizing and revising course curricula;

(c) Specify requirements of academic quality for the award of any degree or diploma in any field of higher education and research;

(d) Specify norms of academic quality for accreditation and benchmarking of higher educational institutions;

(e) Specify norms and processes for establishment and winding up of a university;

(f) Specify norms of academic quality for a university to affiliate colleges;

(g) Specify norms and mechanisms to measure the productivity of research programmes funded by the Commission;

(h) Encourage joint and cross-disciplinary programmes between and amongst Universities and other higher educational institutions;

(i) Promote synergy of research in universities and higher educational institutions with research in other agencies or laboratories;

(j) Develop measures required to lighten the work load of universities in regard to their routine functions and to enhance the quality of time available to universities for research and teaching, and take such measures including schemes for gradually enabling colleges affiliated to universities to function in an autonomous manner independent of such affiliation;

(k) Specify norms and mechanisms for transparent, efficient and accountable governance in universities and other higher educational institutions;

(l) Specify minimum eligibility conditions for appointment of Vice Chancellor of any university or head of an institution of national importance;

(m) Maintain a National Registry of persons eligible and qualified for appointment as Vice Chancellor of a university or the head of an institution of national importance, prepared by the Collegiums;

(n) Encourage universities to formulate a Code of Good Practices in administrative matters and to develop a framework Code to guide universities in formulating such Code of Good Practices;

(o) Encourage, through the creation of an enabling environment, universities to become self-regulatory bodies for the maintenance of academic quality in higher education and research and in colleges affiliated to it;

(p) Develop policies and processes that would create an enabling environment for eligible youth to take up teaching and research as occupation and career;

(q) Develop policies and processes that would enable qualitative and meaningful interaction between students and teachers in higher educational institutions;

(r) establish, as may be specified by regulations, institutions for providing common facilities, services and programmes for a group of universities or for the universities in general and maintain such institutions or provide for their maintenance by allocating and disbursing such grants as the Commission may deem necessary;

(s) Advice, when called upon to do so, the Central Government and State Governments, as the case may be, on policies relating to higher education and research in any field of knowledge therein;

(t) Specify sources, norms and mechanisms for financing higher educational institutions;

(u) Specify norms and principles for allocation of grants, for the maintenance and development or for any other general or specific purpose of a Central University or an institution of national importance;

(v) Specify norms and principles for allocation of grants for the development or for any other general or specific purpose of a State University or an institution deemed to be university supported by the Central Government;

(w) Disburse grants to higher educational institutions in accordance with norms and principles established by regulations;

(x) Specify norms and principles for allocation and disbursement of grants for research in any field of knowledge in an higher educational institution;

(y) Cause to be undertaken policy research in higher education to identify future directions and processes in higher education;

(z) Cause to be undertaken research to assess future knowledge manpower requirements, both in the short-term and in the long-term, in different fields of knowledge for meeting the needs of the economy;

(aa) Cause to be undertaken research to develop a vision on future trends in knowledge.

(ab) Monitor, through a national database, all matters concerning the development of emerging fields of knowledge, balanced growth of higher educational institutions in all spheres and academic quality in higher education and research;

(ac) Develop mechanisms for social audit of the processes in the Commission and obtain public feedback on its performance and achievements;

(ad) Discharge such other functions in relation to the promotion, coordination and maintenance of standards in higher education and research as the Central Government may subject to the provisions of this Act, prescribe.

Powers of Civil Court vested in Commission. -

The Commission shall have the same powers as are vested in a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, (5 of 1908) while trying a suit in respect of the following matters, namely—

(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;

(b) requiring the discovery and production of documents;

(c) receiving evidence on affidavits;

(d) subject to the provisions of sections 123 and 124 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, (1 of 1872) requisitioning any public record or document or copy of such record or document from any office;

(e) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents;

(f) reviewing its decisions;

(g) dismissing an application for default or deciding it ex-parte;

(h) setting aside any order of dismissal of any application for default or any order passed by it ex-parte; and

(i) any other matter which may be prescribed by the Central Government.

National Board of Examinations

The National Board of Examinations was established in 1975 with the prime objective of improving the quality of the Medical Education by elevating the level and establishing standards of post graduate examinations in modern medicine on an all India basis.

National Board for Health Education (NBHE)

The new Board will have a president, two full-time and four part-time members appointed by the Centre on the recommendations of a search-cum-selection committee.

The NBHE will promote academic studies and research in emerging areas of health education with a focus on professional health education, and ensure uniform augmentation of trained specialists and super specialists.

The draft said the Board will determine, coordinate and maintain standards for health education and research; specify minimum requirements in terms of faculty, infrastructure and clinical workload for establishment of institutions for the discipline of health; lay down curricula for examinations; design and approve new courses of study on the recommendations of the institutes, hospitals and universities; undertake faculty development programmes; specify the schedule of admission for various courses; and importantly, conduct examinations for all under-graduate, post-graduate, doctoral, post-doctoral and diploma courses, fellowship programmes and screening tests.

It will specify parameters defining the equivalence between academic qualifications granted by different health institutions in India and abroad and lay down norms and mechanisms for transparent, efficient and accountable governance in a health university or higher health educational institution.

At the same time, it will approve and notify standards of academic quality for accreditation and benchmarking of education in recognised health institutions.

The NBHE has also been vested with promotion of autonomy of health institutions to facilitate the pursuit of knowledge and innovation, development of curricular framework with specific reference to new, emerging or inter-disciplinary fields of knowledge, and taking measures to enhance access to health education.