HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH
University Grants Commission (UGC)
Growth of the Higher Education System 6.1.1 At the beginning of the year 1989-90, the total student enrolment in Universities and Colleges was 39.48 lakhs. This was 1.34 lakhs more than the enrolment in the previous year. The enrolment in the University Departments was 6.55 lakhs and that in the affiliated Colleges was 32.93 lakhs.
6.1.2 Enrolment in the Faculty of Arts constituted 40.3% of the total enrolment. In the Faculties of Science and Commerce the percentage was 19.7 and 21.5 respectively. Enrolment at the first degree level was 34.74 lakhs (88%); at the postgraduate level 3.75 lakhs (9.5%); at the research level 0.43 lakhs (1.1%); and at the diploma and certificate level 0.55 lakhs (1.4%).
6.1.3 The number of teachers increased to 2.49 lakhs during the year. Of these, 0.55 lakhs were in the University Departments/University Colleges and the rest in the affiliated colleges. Of the 54973 teachers in the Universities, 6432 were Professors, 13468 were Readers, 32764 were Lecturers and 2309 were Tutors/Demonstrators. in the affiliated Colleges, the number of senior teachers was 25815, the number of Lecturers was 159546 and that of Tutors/Demonstrators was 8734.
6.1.4 During the year under report one State
52
University viz., Dr. M.G.R. Medical University (Madras) was established.
Higher Education among Women 6.1.5 The enrolment of women students at the beginning of the year 1989-90 was 12.51 lakhs as against 11.25 lakhs in the previous year. At the postgraduate level, the enrolment of women was 33.0% of the total enrolment. The enrolment of women students was the highest in Kerala (52. 1 %) followed by Punjab (46,6%), Delhi (44.6%), Haryana (39.7%) and Meghalaya/Nagaland (39.8%). The enrolment of women was the lowest in Bihar (16.0%).
Autonomous Colleges 6.1.6 The Commission has approved 102 colleges (19 in Andhra Pradesh, 44 in Tamil Nadu, 27 in Madhya Pradesh, 5 in Rajasthan, 5 in Orissa, 1 in U.P. and 1 in Gujarat) for grant of autonomous status. To promote implementation of the scheme in other states, assistance was provided for a number of seminars in universities and the NIEPA and it was stressed upon the universities to expedite formulation of statutes to regulate conferment of autonomous status on colleges. A committee has also been set up for advising and monitoring the implementation of the Scheme.
State Councils of Higher Education 6.1.7 Based on the revised guidelines for setting up of State Councils of Higher Education to plan and coordinate higher education at the State level, a State Council of Higher Education has already been set up in Andhra Pradesh, while it is under the consideration of many other State Governments.
Re-designing of Courses 6.11.8 The scheme of restructuring under-graduate courses in general education was introduced by the U.G.C. with a view to making the first degree courses more relevant to environment and to the developmental needs of the community and to link education with work/field/practical experience and productivity. Several Universities and Colleges have introduced these courses. Further, 'in order to provide an impetus to the programme of redesigning of courses, the U.G.C. has set up 27 Curriculum Development Centres, 10 in Sciences and 17 in Humanities and Social Sciences. These Centres will review the existing curricula with a view to modernise, them and to develop and prepare new teaching and reading materials. The Commission has so far received model curricula in 20 disciplines. Twelve national workshops. in different subject areas have also been organised to discuss these model curricula. Meanwhile, the Commission has continued its assistance to 303 colleges which have been implementing College Science Improvement Programme (COSIP) besides 40 University Departments which were receiving assistance for University leadership programme in Sciences. Similarly, 694 colleges and 16 university departments have been receiving assistance in respect of College Humanities and Social Sciences Improvement Programme (COHSSIP).
6.1.9 The Commission has agreed to the introduction of a three- year degree course in Physical Education, Health Education and Sports in universities and multi-faculty colleges. In the initial stages, only one college in each district having the basic minimum faculties viz. track and field gymnastic, yoga, conditioning unit etc. will be selected for the introduction of the course. Proposals of 18 universities and 32 colleges have been approved by the Commission for starting the course.
University Visiting Committees 6.1.10 The Commission appointed Expert Committees to visit the Universities in the Country essentially to know (a) the status of implementation of 7th Plan development proposals, (b) directions/ programmes of the universities during the 8th Five Year Plan, (c) implementation of National Policy on Education and Programme of Action (1986), and (d) implementation of reservation policies for Scheduled Castes/Tribes etc. These committees started visiting the universities from, July, 1988. Eighty eight State universities and 11 institutions deemed to be universities had been visited till November, 1989.
6.1.11 As for colleges, guidelines have been prescribed for providing assistance to single faculty colleges teaching classical languages and the ceiling of developmental assistance to colleges of Social Work has also been enhanced. Proposals of 2720 colleges were approved for basis assistance and 2430 for development of under- graduate education till 30th September, 1989. In addition, the Commission had approved 114 proposals from single faculty Colleges as well as 327 from post-graduate institutions.
53
Improvement in Efficiency 6.1.12 The Commission has sanctioned computer facilities to 104 universities upto 1988-89. In addition, the Commission has selected 664 Colleges upto November, 1989 for providing computer facilities. Besides using these facilities for training and research, they can be used for maintenance of student records, accounts and other data required for administration and management.
Teacher-Recruitment, Training and Performance Evaluation 6.1.13 In pursuance of NPE, 1986 and the scheme of revised pay- scales for teachers notified by the Government of India in July, 1988, the Commission held discussions with the State Governments and a group of academics to finalise the modalities for holding national level eligibility test for recruitment of lecturers in Universities and Colleges. Accordingly, the Commission has decided to conduct the qualifying test for recruitment of lecturers and has given options to the States to accept the U.G.C. test or to hold their own similar tests of' national character duly accredited by the U.G.C. The Commission has decided to exempt those candidates from appearing in the test who have already obtained M. Phil., and Ph.D. degrees and the candidates who would be awarded these degrees upto December, 1990 and December, 1992 respectively.
6.1.14 For the orientation of newly recruited and inservice college and university lecturers, an Academic Staff Orientation Scheme has been drawn up. The content of the programme Would he flexible so that universities could modify it to suit their local requirements. The programmes would be multi-disciplinary in nature. Grants amounting to Rs. 6.01 crores were sanctioned to 45 Universities for the setting up of Academic Staff Colleges and by November, 1989 all of them had become functional. One hundred and fortyeight orientation courses for newly recruited teachers and 34 refresher Courses for in-service teachers had been organised in which 4411 nd 953 teachers respectively participated upto 31st March, 1989. It is expected that all the 48 identified Academic Staff Colleges, will become functional during 1989-90.
6.1.15 The Task Force appointed by the Commission for evolving a system of performance evaluation, and a code of professional ethics for teachers in universities and colleges completed its reports on these two aspects which were circulated to the universities/colleges and State governments for further action.
Special Assistance Programmes 6.1.16 The Commission continues to provide assistance to 26 Centres of Advanced Study and 96 Departments of Special Assistance in Science, Engineering and Technology and 15 Centres of Advanced Study and 73 Departments of Special Assistance in Humanities and Social Sciences. In addition, 58 Departmental Research Support Projects in Science and 14 in Humanities and Social Sciences are under implementation. The subject panels of the commission have further identified some more Departments to be brought under the Special Assistance Programme.
COSIST Programme 6.1.17 Ninety eight Departments have been assisted under the scheme of Strengthening Infrastructure in Science and Technology Education and Research till March 31, 1989.
Common Facilities and Services 6.1.18 Modem computer based information documentation centres have already been set up at Bangalore, Bombay and Baroda. These centres have improved the information accessibility to the teachers and students and have provided necessary bibliographic support to them apart from making the latest documentation in the respective disciplines available. The Nuclear Science Centre at the JNU Campus, New Delhi and the Inter University Centre in Astronomy and Astro Physics (IUCAA) set up at Poona University have been functioning as autonomous societies since November, 1988.
Media and Educational Technology 6.1.19 The U.G.C. has taken the initiative to utilise the time slot given for higher education and Televising the 'IV programmes in higher education entitled "Countrywide Classroom". The Commission agreed to provide colour television sets to Colleges in phases during the Seventh Plan period. A perspective plan for the UGC INSAT Project is being formulated in which projections will be made for future INSAT time requirement in higher education. The Commission is at present
54
supporting 4 Educational Media Research Centres (EMRCs) at the University of Poona, Gujarat University (Ahmedabad), Central Institute of English and Foreign languages (Hyderabad) and Jamia Millia Islamia (New Delhi). Nine Audio-Visual Research Centres (AVRCs) at University of Roorkee, Osmania University; University of jodhpur; Anna University, Madras; St. Xavier's College, Calcutta; Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai; Kashmir University, Srinagar; Manipur University, Imphal and Punjabi University, Patiala are being supported for training of personnel and production of software. As envisaged in the Programme of Action (POA) under NPE, 1986, distance learning is sought to be made more effective through the production of model course material. In this connection the Commission has taken up a project on 'Non-broadcast Mode Educational Material' and identified 15 subjects and eight production centres for production of model video course material. Workshops in different disciplines have been held and recording has started in some of these. To encourage healthy competition in the production of educational video programmes, the Commission has also organised two video festivals.
Introduction of New Courses 6.1.20 The Commission has been making efforts in consultation with the concerned national agencies for formulation of courses to fulfil the need for trained manpower in certain emerging areas of importance. The Commission is collaborating with the Department of Ocean Development for the development and augmentation of Ocean Sciences and Technology in the University sector. The Commission has also launched a programme to start Post-M.Sc. Course in Atmospheric Sciences in certain universities/ "deemed to be Universities." Similarly, M.Sc. Electronics Science Course which is already being offered in the Universities of Calcutta, Delhi and Poona is likely to be started in the universities of Kurukshetra and Cochin this year. This course is being jointly supported by the Department of Electronics and the University Grants Commission. The Department of Electronics (DOE) is also supporting programmes of the Commission under the UGC-DOE Joint programme for running different manpower training courses in Computer Sciences and Application like one-year Diploma course in Computer Application; 3-year Master of Computer Application Course and B.Tech. and M.Tech. course in Computer Sciences. Courses in Futures (Futurology) have also been approved in 10 universities.
Adult, Continuing and Extension Education Programmes 6.1.21 The Commission is providing assistance to universities for promoting programmes of adult education, eradication of illiteracy, continuing education, population education and planning forums. Under the new guidelines an area-based development approach circulated to universities, assistance for these programmes is being provided by the Commission on a package basis.
6.1.22 During the year 1988-89, 100 Universities were invited. to discuss their proposals prepared for a period of three years on the basis of new guidelines, with the expert committees appointed by the Commission for deciding the extent of UGC assistance. The National Literacy Mission (NLM) assigns to universities/colleges an important task of covering five lakh people in 1988-89 and six lakh during 1989- 90 through 25,000 and 30,000 adult education centres respectively besides involving themselves in the programme for functional literacy. Apart from continuing assistance for the activities of the population education clubs set up by the universities, efforts were made by Population Education Resource Centres to set up linkages with the other two population education projects (viz., School education project and adult education project) within their service area as also with other departments such as Departments of Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare, Science and Technology and some nongovernmental organisations and international agencies. Other important activities undertaken by the working groups and resource centres set up under the UNFPA-UGC project during the year were curriculum development, preparation of learning material, research in population education and extension.
Scholarships and Fellowships 6.1.23 For the development of research in Universities and Colleges, the Commission provides assistance for award of junior research fellowships in various subjects. At any given time, more than 3500 fellowships are operational under this scheme. These fellowships will be awarded only to those research scholars who have qualified in national
55
level tests conducted by the UGC, CSIR, GATE etc. Tests conducted at all India level in some selected subjects by JNU and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore have been accredited as equivalent to national tests for this purpose.
6.1.24 Teachers. of outstanding eminence are awarded national fellowships for a specified period to devote themselves exclusively to research and writing. Under the scheme of Research Scientists, 200 positions have been created in the grades of lecturers, Readers and Professors in order to provide opportunities to those who wish to pursue research as a career. Selections under this scheme are made directly by the Commission. As on 30th November, 1989, 152 research scientists were working out of 185 selected for these positions.
Coaching Classes for Competitive Examinations for Weaker Sections
among Minority communities 6.1.25 The Commission continued to provide assistance to 20 universities and 22 colleges for organising coaching classes for competitive examinations for weaker sections among the minority communities.
Facilities for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes 6.1.26 in addition to the junior Research Fellowships reserved for Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes out of the total number of such fellowships instituted in various universities, the Commission is directly awarding every year 50 fellowships for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Similarly, the Commission has reserved 40 Research Associateships for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In order to provide opportunities to teachers in affiliated colleges belonging to Scheduled Castes /Scheduled Tribes for improving their qualifications by doing M. Phil/Ph.D., the Commission has instituted 50 teacher fellowships every year.
Women's studies 6.1.27 The Commission has been providing financial assistance to universities for undertaking well-defined projects for research in women's studies and also for the development of curriculum at the under-graduate and post-graduate levels and relevant extension activities.
6.1.28 The commission has also created 40 positions of part-time research associateship for women candidates in Science and Humanities including Social Sciences and Engineering & Technology. Twenty seven research projects relating to themes on women's studies were approved for assistance upto March, 1989. The Standing Committee on women's studies, after examining various proposals, recommended assistance to 19 universities and seven colleges/university departments for setting up women's studies/cells.
Projecton Information and library Network 6.1.29 The Commission took the initiative to prepare a project for the modernisation of libraries and information Centres in the country, with the application of Computer and Communication technologies during the Eighth Five Year Plan. The project, titled INFLIBNET (Information and library Network) is to be a computer-communication network for linking libraries and information centres in universities, deemed to be universities, institutions of national importance, UGC Information Centres, R and D institutions and colleges. so that they could optimally utilise their resources.
6.1.30 A report submitted by the inter agency Working Group on INFLIBNET was approved by the UGC during the year and the Planning Commission has been requested to consider the project for implementation during the 8th plan. As part of pre-project activities, the UGC has constituted six task groups to work out the finer technical details. These working groups are on network design, library automation, Union catalogue/data capturing/ standardisation, reprographic conversion, bibliographic database services/sectoral information centres and training.