In the case of the Banaras Hindu University (Amendment) Bill provision has been made for a term of five years for the vice- chancellor with eligibility for reappointment for a second term.

(3) Treasurer

The Committee is not in favour of honorary or paid treasures independently elected by the Court. The treasurer/finance officer should be a whole-time salaried officer of the university appointed by the Executive Council specially charged with the responsibility of looking after the finances of the university. Similarly the Finance

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Committee also should not be independently constituted but be substantially a Sub-Committee of the Executive Council.

In the Banaras Hindu University (Amendment), Bill, 1964 it has been decided to provide a whole-time salaried finance officer to be appointed by the Executive Council.

(4) Court

The Committee has recommended that the Court should be the policy making body of the university with a lay element and should not be concerned with the details of academic matters or the day-to-day administration of the university. It should consist of not more than 100 members, of whom approximately 50 per cent should be external ones. The Court may consist of ex-officio members, representatives of alumni, donors, learned professions and industry and nominees of the Executive Council, the Visitor and the Court.

In the case of the Banaras Hindu University (Amendment) Bill, it has been provided that the Court shall be the supreme authority of the University with power to review from time to time the broad policies and programmes of the University. It will consist of not more than 100 members representing the various categories of persons recommended by the Committee.

(5) Executive Council

The Committee has recommended that the Executive Council Should consist of 15 to 20 members with approximately equal number of internal and external members.

In the, Banaras Hindu University (Amendment) Bill, 1964, it has been decided to provide for an Executive Council consisting of 18 members as follows:

                 
                     Vice-Chancellor                              1
                     Pro-Vice-Chancellor                          1    
                     Deans of Faculties                           4
                     Principal, Women's college                   1
                     Principal of affiliated colleges             1
                     Elected by the Court                         4
                     Nominees of the Visitor                      4
                     Nominee of the Rector                        1
                     Nominee of the Chancellor                    1
                
                                                                 18

(6) Audit of Accounts

The Committee has recommended that there should be sound financial rules but used so as not to delay or obstruct progress. There should be external audit and the audit reports should be placed before the Court and also communicated to Government but it is not desirable to place them before Parliament/State Legislatures and their Public Accounts Committees.

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The Central Public Accounts Committee had recommended that the audit reports of the Central universities should be presented to Parliament and necessary provision to that effect should also be made in the respective university statutes. After careful consideration, the Ministry of Education did not accept the recommendation of the Public Accounts Committee.

(7) Conditions of Service of Teachers

The Committee has recommended that the gap between the conditions of service of teachers in the affiliated colleges and university departments should be reduced. Teachers with similar qualifications, whether in colleges or university departments should have similar conditions of service including salary scales.

(8) Appointments of Teachers

The Committee has recommended that the power of appointing teachers and other employees and disciplinary control over them should vest in the university and not transferred to the Public Service Commission or other external body. Teaching appointments should be made by the Executive Council only on the recommendation of selection committees consisting of the vice-chancellor, the heads of departments concerned and a certain number of experts. The number of experts may vary according to the class of teachers to be appointed.

In the case of the Banaras Hindu University (Amendment) Bill, 1964 (as exists in the statutes of other Central universities), provi- sion has been made for selection committees for making recommendations to the Executive Council in regard to appointments to the post of professors, readers, lecturers, registrar and librarian. These selection committees will consist of vice-chancellor, the heads of the departments concerned and a certain number of experts nominated by the Executive Council for different categories of ports.

ANNEXURE XVII

SUMMARY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON `MODEL ACT FOR UNIVERSITIES'

1. The importance of written constitutions is less than the conventions that are needed for the right development of a university. For building such conventions, two basic prin- ciples should be accepted, viz. (i) autonomy of universities from external control and (ii) internally democratic admi- nistration and effective participation of the academic Com- munity in the formation and implementation of the university policy and programmes.

2. The President of India in the case of Central universities and the Governor of the State concerned in the case of State universities should be the Visitor of the universities. He should not be included in the list of officers of the university but should have an independent position with well- defined powers.

3. There should be a Chancellor elected by the Court. His should be an office of honour.

4. The Committee is unable to recommend any one pattern as the most suitable one for all the universities in India for the appointment of a vice-chancellor. The Committee, however, indicates preference for the following two modes, namely, (i) that the vice-chancellor should be nominated by the Visitor/Government in the early stages; and (ii) that he should ordinarily be elected by the Court from among three persons recommended by a majority of the members of the Executive Council. Whatever be the mode, the aim should be to secure the best person available. The Vice-Chancellor should be a distinguished educationist or scholar with administrative experience.

5. (a) The vice-chancellor should have a salary commensurate with his position and responsibility.

(b) The term of office of a vice-chancellor should be of five years; he should not normally be appointed for more than two terms in the same university, subject to any retiring age that may be fixed.

6. To relieve the vice-chancellor of some of his duties, there should be a pro-vice-chancellor or rector chosen by the vice- chancellor.

7. Except in special circumstances, the registrar should be a permanent officer of the university.

8. The Committee is not in favour of honorary or paid trea- surers independently elected by the Court. The treasurer/ finance officer should be a whole-time salaried officer of the university appointed by the Executive Council specially

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charged with the responsibility of looking after the finances of the university. Similarly, the Finance Committee also should not be independently constituted but be substantially a sub-committee of the Executive Council.

9. Universities with large building programmes should have an efficient and versatile engineer of their own.

10. The Court should be the policy making body of the university with a lay element and should not be concerned with the details of academic matters or the day-to-day administration of the university. It should consist of not more than 100 members, of whom approximately 50 per cent should be external ones. The Court may consist of ex-officio members, representatives of alumni, donors, learned professions and industry and nominees of the Executive Council.. the Visitor and the Court.

11. The Executive Council should consist of 15 to 20 members with approximately equal number of internal and external members.

12. The Academic Council should be the sole authority for de- termining the courses of study and standards. Their deci- sions should not need approval by any other authority in the university.

13. There should be sound financial rules but used so as not to delay or obstruct progress. There should be external audit and the audit reports should be placed before the Court and also communicated to Governments but it is not desirable to place them before Parliament/State Legislatures and their Public Accounts Committees.

14. (a) As the bulk of our students are in the affiliated colleges, due attention should be devoted to such colleges. The conditions for granting affiliation should be prescribed and enforced by universities notwithstanding pressure of num- bers. The increasing demands for admission should not be met by expanding the size of existing colleges but by other measures such as evening and correspondence courses and other types of education besides arts and science courses.

(b) The gap between the condition of service of teachers in the affiliated colleges and university departments should be reduced. Teachers with similar qualifications, whether in colleges or university departments should have similar conditions of service including salary scales.

(d) There should be provision to enable colleges to try out new methods and courses.

15. (a) In some States, University Grants Commissions/Committees have been established. If these are to make a useful and effective contribution to higher education the entire question would need careful consideration by the competent authorities, perhaps in consultation with the University Grants Commission.

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(b) The power of appointing teachers and other employees and disciplinary control over them should vest in the uni- versity and not transferred to the Public Service Commission or other external body. Teaching appointments should be made by the Executive Council only on the recommendation of selection committees consisting of the vice-chancellor, the heads of departments concerned and a certain number of experts. The number of experts may vary according to the class of teachers to be appointed.

16. Every university should have a dean of students and devote special attention to students' welfare. An attempt should be made to secure the cooperation of senior students in the management of social and other aspects of life in the university. Student-government is one of the forms of training that should not be ignored in a university.

STANDING COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION

August 6 and 7, 1965

Item No. 3: Pro-motion of Higher Education through Evening Colleges.

(Ministry of Education)

At the 28th Session of the Central Advisory Board of Education held at New Delhi on January 16 and 17, 1961, the Board passed the following resolution:

"The Board approved in principle the scheme of evening colleges providing arts, science and professional courses of the same standard as those in the day colleges and recommended that a small committee should work out the details".

2. Accordingly, an Expert Committee was appointed in August, 1961 under the chairmanship of Dr. D. S. Kothari to work out the details of the scheme of evening colleges for implementation during the Third Plan Period. This Committee was also charged with the duty of formulating details of the scheme of correspondence courses in India.

3. As early as 1948-49, the University Education (Radhakrishnan) Commission report recognised the role of evening colleges in higher education and took the view that these colleges/classes should be for full-time workers. They would have to be held in building of ordinary colleges, but staff should be separate as no teacher could possibly teach in the evenings in addition to teaching day classes. Not only staff, but all the employees of the evening classes should be constituted into an organisation separate from the day institution.

4. While being in general agreement with the University Edu- cation Commission on its approach to evening colleges/classes, the Expert Committee made the important recommendation that with a swiftly developing economy and increasing demand for higher education, the evening colleges/classes in India should provide facilities not only for employed persons and those who have not

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had the opportunity of higher education at an early stage in their life due to economic and other factors, but also for a. higher number of ordinary students every year, who are unable to gain admission to day colleges. The demand for higher education in, India has increased very markedly in the last fifteen years and in, response to this demand, student enrolment has risen from 4,59,024 in 1951-52 to 11,55,380. in 1961-62. At the end of the Third Plan period, about 13.0 lakhs students will have been enrolled in university and colleges. The Committee had, therefore, felt that for some years to come, it was clear that the demand for university education will exceed the supply of facilities for it in day colleges. The Com- mittee, therefore, recommended that evening colleges/classes to be also thrown open to ordinary regular students.

5. The Government of India accepted the recommendations of the Expert Committee in Evening Colleges and formulated a scheme for grants-in-aid to universities and colleges for starting evening colleges/classes. A copy of the scheme which was circulated to State Governments/universities in March, 1964 is given in Annexure XVIII.

6. Under this scheme, financial assistance has been provided top four evening colleges started by the Panjab University in Chandi- garh, Simla, Jallundur and Rohtak and to one college in Jabalpur up to the end of 1964-65. Proposals for grants-in-aid to certain colleges started in Andhra Pradesh and Assam are under consideration.

In addition to these colleges which are receiving financial assistance from the Ministry of Education under the Third Plan pro- gramme, the University Grants Commission has been making grants on a "cover-the-deficit" basis to four evening degree colleges in Delhi and to one post-graduate evening college managed by the University of Delhi.

7. The evening colleges which have so far been receiving aid from the Central Government, have been started for providing educational facilities to employed persons only.

8. As it has been stated in paragraph 4 above, the demand for higher education is increasing rapidly. During the Fourth Plan period, the student enrolment in universities and colleges is esti- mated to increase from about 13.0 lakhs to 18.0 lakhs, (i.e. an anti- cipated increase of 5.0 lakhs students). According to the latest estimates prepared by the University Grants Commission in consultation with Planning Commission, provision has been made in the Fourth Five Year Plan for providing additional facilities for higher education to 3.5 lakhs students in day and evening colleges. In view of the rapid increase in enrolment in higher educational institutions during the last fifteen years, the number of colleges has also increased very rapidly and rather haphazardly. It is the view of educational experts that a large number of the colleges-particularly at the undergraduate level, have been started in recent years without any planning and are "sub-standard". It is, therefore, proPosed, that in the Fourth Five Year Plan increasing emphasis. should be laid on consolidation and improvement of quality in the existing institutions. If, therefore, an optimum use is to be made of the