(a) the details of the priorities set in higher education sector during the Twelfth Five Year Plan period;
(b) the amount of funds allocated to the said priorities;
(c) the amount of funds spent so far in the Twelfth Five Year Plan period; and
(d) the details in this regard including the achievement of the targets set for the plan under the said
priorities?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(DR. MAHENDRA NATH PANDEY)
(a): The priority areas of higher education during the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17) are expansion,
equity and excellence with a greater emphasis on quality of higher education mainly by way of setting
up of new institutions; greater emphasis on funding of State institutions to improve infrastructural
facilities; ensuring availability, recruitment and retention of qualified people to meet the growing
need for quality faculty; upgrading the skills of existing faculty and building synergies between
teaching and research to promote excellence in both; making use of the transformative potential of new
technologies to improve quality, reduce cost, improve processes and efficiency and reach a larger body
of students; and focus on skills within the higher education by setting up of community colleges and
polytechnics.
(b) to (d): To meet the above stated priorities, a number of initiatives such as opening of new
institutions of higher education, implementation of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on
Teachers & Teaching, launching of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) on SWAYAM platform and
Uchchatar Aavishkar Abhiyan programme to promote industry-specific need-based research. The National
Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology has been envisaged as a
scheme with the objective of making the best use of ICT with the purpose of identification and nurturing
of talent and life-long learning as well as extending the education facility to a larger section of people.
During the Twelfth Five Year Plan, a new scheme called the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan
(RUSA) has been approved which aims to achieve equity, access and excellence in higher education.
The scheme supports components such as upgrading autonomous colleges to universities, clustering
colleges to establish a university, setting up of new professional colleges in un-served and underserved
areas as well as providing infrastructure grants to universities and colleges to scale up capacity.
Amount of fund allocated and funds spent during the XII Five Year Plan from 2012-13 to 2015-16 is as
under:
<pre>
(Rs in Crore)
Department XII Plan Outlay Fund Allocated/
Budget Estimates
Revised
Estimates
Funds spent during 2012-
13 to 2015-16
Higher Education 1,10,700.00 64,423.26 55,604.99 54,190.26
</pre>
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