(a) whether the Government has noticed that India is the only (BRICS) nations without
representation in the top hundred global universities;
(b) if so, whether the Government has taken any steps to remove the mess in the higher
education system in the country;
(c) if so, the details thereof;
(d) whether the Government is taking any steps to provide cutting-edge education by
both Indian and foreign universities in the country; and
(e) if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)
(a) to (c): Educational reforms and quality improvement measures are a constant
endeavour of the Government and the UGC. Several reforms have been introduced in
the higher education sector in the country, namely: (i) Choice Based Credit System
(CBCS) (ii) mandatory accreditation of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) (iii)
skilling through HEIs (iv) amending standards and qualifications in the higher
education sector (v) providing enhanced funding through norm based schemes etc.
Recognizing that there is no globally accepted ranking methodology of universities,
the Government has launched the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) from
2016 onwards for ranking institutions in order to incentivize and promote quality.
(d) & (e): The Government has approved a programme titled Global Initiative for
Academic Networks (GIAN) in Higher Education aimed at tapping the talent pool of
scientists and entrepreneurs internationally to encourage their engagement with the
institutes of Higher Education in India so as to augment the country’s existing academic
resources, accelerate the pace of quality reform, and elevate India’s scientific and
technological capacity to global excellence. GIAN is an evolving scheme which will
initially include participation of foreign faculty in Institutes as Distinguished / Adjunct /
Visiting faculty / Professors of Practice, etc., to participate in delivering Short or
Semester-long Courses. The UGC has notified UGC (Promotion and maintenance of
standards of academic collaboration between Indian and Foreign Educational
Institutions) Regulations, 2016 in Gazette of India. This regulation will enable Indian
Universities and Colleges to start twinning and collaborative arrangement with quality
Foreign Educational Institutions (FEIs) in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes
leading to the award of a degree.
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