 UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION-A
 REVIEW OF ITS WORK

The University Grants Commission has an impressive record of work to its credit for promotion and coordination of university education and for the determination and maintenance of standards of teaching, examination and research. To put it briefly, the Commission has from time to time, constituted Review Committees consisting of eminent university teachers, to examine the existing facilities for teaching and research and the current syllabii in various subjects of study. Thus, it can be truly claimed for the Commission that the Committees appointed by it have helped to improve and modernize our educational system. The reports of some of the Committees so appointed have been forwarded to universities for their consideration and action. The question of standards in our universities has received special attention at the hands of the Commission. We may refer to the fact that a special committee was appointed by it to undertake a systematic and objective study of the standards prevailing in our universities and to make recommendations for their improvement.

2. For encouraging the pursuit of excellence in teaching and research and for accelerating the attainment of international standards, Centres of Advanced Studies in selected subjects in some universities have been established by the Commission. One of the most important services which the Commission has rendered is to revise the scales of pay of the teaching staff of the universities, so that it might become possible for them to recruit and retain some of their best products in the universities. The revised scales of pay are given below:-

        
        Professor                               Rs. 1000-50-1500
        Reader                                  Rs. 700-40-1100
        Lecturer                                Rs. 400-30-640-40-800
        Instructor                              Rs. 300-25-350

The practice of the Commission is to share the additional expenditure required for the introduction of these scales to the extent of 80% provided the universities or State Governments concerned contribute the balance and give a reasonable assurance that the revised scales will be maintained on a permanent basis even after the Commission's assistance ceases. It may be mentioned that the Commission has also provided assistance for introducing the scales of pay noted below for different categories of teachers in affiliated colleges :-

        Principal                               Rs. 600-40-800
        Professor/Head of the Department        Rs. 400-25-700
        Senior Lecturer                         Rs. 300-25-600
        Lecturer                                Rs. 200-15-320
        Tutor or Demonstrator                   Rs. 150-10-200

The condition attached to this assistance is that the Commission will share only 50% in men's colleges and 75% in women's colleges. In other words, 50% and 25% of the additional expenditure has to be found by either the State Government or the university or the college concerned before the grant can be made.

3. Seminars and summer schools which provide opportunities to teachers and research workers to acquaint themselves with the latest developments in their various fields of knowledge have been encouraged by the Commission. By so doing, the Commission has endeavoured to improve the professional competence of teachers and contributed towards raising the standard of teaching in universities and colleges.

4. Another activity in which the Commission has taken interest is examination reform. An Expert Committee whose report was published in 1962 has examined this question which appears to have evoked widespread and searching interest in the subject. Many universities have expressed their general agreement with the recommendations of the Committee and some are even contemplating to introduce certain measures of reform recommended by it.

5. Tutorial classes in selected institutions have been encouraged by the Commission. Assistance has been given for this purpose and the Commission has helped by financial assistance the provision of additional accommodation and expansion of libraries in universities and colleges.

6. in order to bring about rationalization and modernization of general education, the Commission has, from time to time, taken steps to promote re-orientation of undergraduate courses of study.

7. Universities are provided with grants by the Commission for the improvement of physical facilities, recruitment of additional staff, purchase of books and scientific equipment, the development of libraries and laboratories, the construction of hostels and staff quarters and the provision of other essential amenities necessary for a better academic atmosphere for students and teachers.

8. It has been the endeavour of the Commission to stimulate re- search and attract suitable personnel to the teaching profession. For this purpose, the Commission has instituted a number of research scholarships and fellowship. It has also provided special grants to teachers to enable them to carry on research and other learned activities.

9. Attention may be drawn to the fact that for improving existing conditions of study and work, the Commission makes grants, inter alia, for the following pruposes :-

(i) Travel grants to teachers and research scholars.

(ii) Assistance to retired teachers to enable them to continue their teaching and research work.

(iii) Publication of doctoral theses and learned works of high standard.

(iv) Printing presses.

(v) Extension lectures.

(vi) Gandhi Bhavans.

(vii) Hobby workshops.

10. The Chairman, University Grants Commission, in his interview with the Committee pointed out that the most serious difficulty which faced them was the pausity of funds necessary for raising standards and implementing approved schemes effectively and particular reference was made by him to the need for improving teacher-pupil ratio from 1: 17 to at least 1:10. We attach great importance to this. From what we are able to gather from the information supplied to us by the Commission as also the other eminent men who met us, the quality of education is largely dependent on the standards maintained by colleges. They have meagre resources and lack the necessary facilities for imparting good education. It is urgently necessary to improve their staff, equipment, libraries and laboratories. Without these and other such like facilities, no real improvement of university education is possible. The Commission has only been able to tackle these problems on a limited scale. The problem is of vast magnitude and it can be tackled only by the provision of much larger funds and more liberal grants than had been hitherto forthcoming.

11. The existing provisions of the University Grants Commission Act do not enable the Commission to give recurring grants to State universities. Necessarily this leads to difficulties and retards the pace of development. It may not be possible to go as far as to suggest that the Commission should make itself responsible for the maintenance grants of State universities but certainly the grants for development purposes should not only be increased but also given without the condition of a matching grant attached to it. We have considered it necessary to review very briefly some of the activities of the University Grants Commission. A perusal of the Annual Reports published by them discloses that the Commission has been an active body and has done much during the years that it has been in existence to maintain and improve educational standards.

12. We may say that on the question of the working of the University Grants Commission, we had the benefit of interviews with the Chairman, Dr. D. S. Kothari and ex-Chairman Dr. C. D. Deshmukh, Pt. H. N. Kunzru, Prof. A. R. Wadia, Mr. B. Shiva Rao and Dewan Anand Kumar and Shri Boothalingam, ex-Members of the Commission.

13. We have, in formulating our proposals for the expansion of higher education, borne in mind the necessity of preserving the academic freedom of our universities. One of the main problems is to secure the services of the best talent available in the community for educational institutions. We have already indicated that an effort has been made by the University Grants Commission in this direction to improve the pay scales of teachers and research scholars in universities and colleges. We think that there is scope for further improvement in this direction and we see no reason why the pay scales of literary artists, scientists, technologists or engineers or medical men should be inferior to those paid to the administrative services.

14. In the new era which we have entered, a wider conception has to be taken of the duties and responsibilities of our universities. Their task is to provide leadership for all our national activities. It is their job to ensure, that the country possesses a sufficient supply of statesmen, parliamentarians, diplomats, judges, jurists, scientists, engineers, technologists, physicians, surgeons and men capable of giving a new lead in agriculture, industry and business. Our universities must be so equipped as to meet the challenge which is bound to increase as we advance along the lines of progress for every type of higher education, literary and scientific, technical and professional. Our places of learning have to help us in fighting poverty, disease, ignorance, superstition and all that goes with it. They have to enrich our society by bringing it into accord with notions of that justice upon which emphasis has been placed in the Preamble of our Constitution. In order that they might be able to accomplish the vast task, they need teachers and researchers, inspired by a zeal for advancing knowledge and determinately loyal to definite social purposes. It should be the endeavour of our universities to secure for their staffs a sufficient supply of teachers dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. It is necessary to ensure that we preserve the best talent in our country for purposes of research and higher learning. It is well known that some of the best talent in Britain is migrating to the States not only because the salaries paid are more attractive but the conditions of work are more satisfactory. We should prevent a situation like that happening in this country. In order that we might be able to tackle this problem, with courage and determination it is necessary for us to take a wide view of the purposes for which our educational system exists. It is the foundation upon which the future of our nation depends.

UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION-A REVIEW OF ITS WORK