The Constitutional-

Provisions Regarding
Indian Higher Education
We have discussid in the earlier Block, how the colonial system of education in
India was geared for a very specific purpose. However, Independence in 1947
aroused great hopes and fundamental changes were expected 1n the system of
education. These hopes, sentiments and aspirations of the people were echoed by
the national leaders. In 1948, Jawaharlal Nehru. in his inaugural address to the All
India Educational Conference observed:
"Whenever conferences were called to form a plan tor education in India,
the tendency, as a rule, was to maintain the exis&ng system with light
modifications. This must not happen now. Great charges have taken place
in the country and the educational system must aldo be in keeping with
them., The entire basis of education must be revolu6onized".
Against this backdrop it is interesting to place educatioh in the context of the
constitutional arrangements that obtain in India. M e r the transfer of power in
1947, India gave itself a Consbtution which came into force in 1950. What are the
details of this constitutional arrangement in respect to education? How have these
worked? These are the important issues that need to be understood by everyone
interested in higher education. Wlthout a clear or adequate understanding of these
Constitutional arrangements. it would not be possible to understand the functions
and responsibilit~esof different agencies in the sphere of hkher education, and to
thlnk of alternatlvc ways of organizing the system or even reforming it.
In this unit we propose to discuss the Constitutional provisians which have a direct
or indirect bearing on education.

Learning outcomes
Before embarking 011 a discussion on the development qf education in post-
independence period, it would be both interesting and useful to see the provisions
under which the system of education operated in the British period. Following this,
we would review the mechanisms that have been provided to higher education ill
the Constitution for fulfilling its obligations. ,

By the end of this imit, you should be able to

understand the arrangements of higher education in the wlonial period;
enumerate different Central and State mechanisn~shelping the higher education
sector:
know the origin and fimctio~~s
of the University Grants Cornhission;
discuss different Constitutional amendments regarding higher Sducation; a d
evaluate the role of planning and funding in higher education.
 3 . n Higher Education:
.. ties and Plans Historical background
In order to understand what the Constitution of India lays down with regard to
education, some understanding of the system as it prevailed before 1947 would be
necessary.

Colonial government and higher education

When the East India Company established itself as a power in the sub-continent,
everything was managed and controlled by the Governor - General then located at
Calcutta. Throughout this period, in practice all education, from the lowest to the
higher level was managed by the Governor-General-in-Council. Regional authority
was vested in the provinces where Directors of Public Instruction (DPI) looked
after lower levels of education. The universities, however, continued to be directly
under the Viceroy and the Governor-General. It was in recog~litionof this fact that
two Commissions, one in 1882 (Indian Education Commission) and another in 1902
(Indian Universities Commission) were appointed to report on the universities.

Education under diarchy

/

Another Commission, known as the Sadler Commission, was appointed in 1917-

19 to inquire into the conditions and prospects of the Uniuersity of Calcutta. Although
the recommendations of the Calcutta University Comlnission o; the Sadler
Commission (1917-1 9) did not introduce any significant change in the governance
of the universities, it is instructive to recall that the Commission did suggest a large
measure of autonomy to the teaching body of the universities and advocated mature
responsiveness to the needs of the students served by them. By the time it reported,
the Morley-Minto Reforms had been introduced. In respect of education, this meant,
transfer of the constitutional authority to manage education not only to the provinces
but, furthermore, to Indian ministers. According to this scheme, the provincial
government exercised powers under two headings. Some subjects were resewed
and these were under the overall jurisdiction of the Governor who was the head of
the provincial government and responsible to the Secretary of State for Indian Affairs
and some subjects were transferred to Indian ministers wlio were responsible to a
provincial legislature which consisted of a large elected majority. It was on account
of this division of the provincial executive into two parts that the system got its
name of diarchy and it was under this unusual form of a political constitution that
- Indians first obtained the control of the Education Department.

This system of diarchy continued till the introduction of the Government of h d i i

Act, 1935. According to this Act, the distinction between "reserved" and
"transferred" subjects was done away with. Though tlie Governor had the power
to veto any decision in case he felt it was necessary to do so, the authority could be
exercised by the Indian Ministers. However, there was hardly any occasion when
this power of veto was exercised.

Coordination

Once education became a provincial subject in 1921, the Central government found
that it had no mechanism to coordinate with the provinces. Two important steps
were taken to deal with this situation, one was to establisll the Central Advisory
Board of Education in 1921 and the second was to persuade the universities to
set up an Inter-University Board in 1925. The former body had the Minister of
Education from each State as its members, while on the latter body, each university
was represented by its Vice-Chancellor. It may be noted that both tliese bodies
provided platforms for ventilating views, and at best, tendering advice to the
Government.
 While in respect of education, the Act of 1935 did not lead tb any significant change, The Constitutional Provieions
Regarding Indian Higher
except that it put an end to the inherently defective system of diarchy. This Act Educntion
was particularly important in another respect. For the firkt time, a constitutional
distinction was made between the powers of the Centre (Federation, as it was
known in the 1935 Act) and those of the Provinces. Two lists of subjects were
drawn up in this Act; one enumerated Central powers and the second, the Provincial
' powers. It was this very model of the division of powers between the Centre and
the States which was taken over in the Constitution that fiee India gave to herself.
In the Indian Constitution, there is a Central list and there is a State list and a
third list which shows the areas in respect of which thq center has Concurrent
powers, which means that in case a law is adopted by the Centre, it has to have
precedence over the corresponding state law.

Self-assessment
I. What were the important constitutional landmar@ with respect to higher
education in India before Independence. In what way did they help
evolve the status of higher education as it exists today?

.Posi-lndependence developments - Constitutional provi&ns

i

After -1947, when it came to education, the 1935 Act model waspot disturbed and
education continued to be a state subject. However a number of influential persons,
including Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime ~illjster,and Maulana Azad, the Education
Minister, felt that the Centre must have a say, particularly in respect of higher
education. Maulana Azad used a phrase which bears re-telling, he said that while
"Central control" was not possible, "central guidance"jrnust be ensured.
&
Central provisions
The University Education Commission which had been eppointed in 1948 under the
Chairmanship of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan made an interim recommendation to the
Government wherein it suggested that education be m d e a concurrent subject; the
Constitution was then under preparation and a proposal in regard to the constitutional
position of education was in order. This recommendatpn was not accepted by the
Constituent Assembly, however. A compromise was plorked out; under List-J of
the Seventh Schedule wherein the powers of the cende and the States are listed,
certain entries were inserted which gave far-reaching :powers to the Centre.
Entries 63, 64. 65 and 66 dealt with various issues regarding higher education.
Entry 63 concerned the control of institutions like th6National Library, Calcutta,
Universities (now often called 'Central Universities') like Banaras. Aligarh and
Delhi. E n t q 64 dealt with institutions of scientific and technical education which
may be financed wholly or in part by the Government of India and / or dec1ared.b~
Parliament to be institutions of national importande (the Indian Institutes of
Technology are in this category). Agencies and institutions for professional, vocational
or technical training or scientific or technical institutions could also be established
by the Centre according to Entry 65. In the case of esdblished institutions engaged
in special kinds of educational progra2mes (on the recompendation of the University
Indian Higher Education: Grants Commission), the Central Government can declare them as "deemed to be7'
Policles and Plnns
universities. There are many examples and they include the Indian Institute of Science
at Bangalore and the Gujarat Vidyapeeth.
The most important of these entries is Entry 66 which reads as follows:
Coordination and deterniination of standards in institutions for higher
education or research or scientific and technical institutions.
In terms of this Entry, because of the far-reaching scope of coordination in higher
education, and of the need to rnainta+ . ~ denhance standards of higher education
and research, the Centre came to ex ,2 overall power in regard to higher and
professional education. It would be relevant to note here that the U.G.C. Act of
1956 was passed as a consequence of and in terms of this entry. Later, in 1988,
the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) was also established as a
statutory body.

Other coordinati~gbodies
In addition to the UGC and the AICTE, there are a number of other central
coordinating bodies also which derive their mandate mainly from Entry 66. Some of
them may be listed as under:
The Medical Council of India
The Bar Council of India
The Nursi~gCouncil of India
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research
The Pharmacy Council of India .
The Institute of Architects .
The Institute of Accountancy, etc.
There are other provisions also in the Constitution which empower the Centre to
establish such professional bodies, for instance, the Bar Council of India has been
established in terms of the Advocates Act, 1961.
The various coordinating bodies partly listed above are essentially professional in
character, perform the role of laying down professional standards, helping institutions
wtha funds in certain cases, and in general, help them to maintain professional
standards. A certain degree of coordination is also achieved by these bodies. The
oldest of them is the Indian Medical Council which was established as long ago as
in 1935.
While most of these bodies are statutory in character, some are registered as societies
'under the Society Registration Act. In the first category are the University @ants
Commission (1956) and thz All India Council of Technical kducation (1488). The
moie notable among the second category are the Indi* ~o&[Link] Agric$tural
Research (ICAR) and the Indian Medical Council. n e intenii6n [Link] 66 is,
however, only partly fulfilled - firstly because ICAR and MCI are'not 'statutory
bodies to affect determination of standards and. to -coordinate' education'.in their
fields, and secondly, because overall coordinaticy in higher education ahd research
1s not yet the responsibility of any of the existing bodies. With qcesti0q.s of glanning
education and research activities, of sharing' of sophisti8at°ed A d expensive facilities,
and creation of new areas of interflisciplinary knowledge, the setting ub of a
Commission for Higher Education is being currently discussed.

Provisions in the Bates

In the State list, Entry 11 reads as follows:
Education including universities, subject to the provision of Entries 63, 64,
65 and 66 of List-L and Entry 25 of List-111.
! We have discussed the content of these Entries in t k previous section. It may be The Constitutional Provisions
Regarding Indian Higher
added here that Entry 25 List-111, Concurrent List, refers to vocational and technical Education
training of labour.

As should be clear, education is listed as a State subject also and higher education
includes universities as well. We have already seen that in respect of coordination
and determination of standards, the Centre was given'exclusive powers. How have
the States fulfilled this constitutional obligation? settinghp and maintaining of schools,
colleges and universities - with massive attendant eApenditure is, by and large, a
State responsibility. Almost every State budget spends approximately one-quarter
!
of its total outlay on education, and there are States like Kerala which spend as
much as 40 per cent of their budget on education.

The relationship between the Centre and the States in tespect of education however
is neither all that rational in its operation nor easy t o manage. While the State
budgets in respect of Non-Plan expenditure are decided upon by the States
themselves, with regard to Plan expenditure, the Planning Commission has a role to
play. Incidentally, the Planning Commission whichGs not a statutory body was
established in terms of Entry 20 (economic and social planning) in the Concurrent
List. With the passage of time, the Planning Commission has come to exercise
considerable authority, largely for the reason that in tehns of the fiscal relationship
between the Centre and the States, the Centre has enormous financial resource
and hence powers. If the States wish to secure Centml help (and they cannot do
without it), they, more or less, have to fall in line with the wishes of the Centre a s
expressed by the Planning Commission.

A brief reference to the Finance Commission would be in order here. According

to the Constitution, it is appointed every five years andfts job is to allocate funds to
the States out of the central pool of income. This process of the transfer
of funds to the States makes bulk allocation. Somet tates, after receiving the
funds, divert them froin one sector of education to r. Since funds are never
adequate for the real needs of the educational sect ersion of funds is often
related to "pressures" which result in higher educat g the beneficiary at the
expense of primary education. But, of course, th s not mean that higher
education gets ever as much as it needs.

Coodinating mechanisms at the centre

Of the mechanisms at the Centre which have been hdlping the higher education
sector, the following might be mentipned here. One is the University Grants
Commission (UGC) which has a statutory status and field operation confined to
the universities, largely dealing with colleges and faculties in general studies, and
the others are the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), which
was given a statutory status in 1988 and deals with Enginekring institutes and colleges,
. the Indian Council for Agricultufal Research (ICAR] which is still non-statutory
in character and deals with agricultural universities and the The National Council
on Teacher Education (NCTE) related to teacher eddcation. Each one of these
bodies has been giving grants to universities and colleges in their related spheres.
The National Policy on Education (1986) adopted by the Parliament had
recommended the creation of a new body known as the Apex Body to ensure
coordination amongst the different bodies.

Universi& Grartts Commission (UGC)-genesis

The first attempt to formulate a national system of education in India came in 1944,
with the ~ e p o rof
t the central Advisory Board of Educatidn on Post War Educational
Development in India, also known as the Sargeant ~ $ o r t . It recommended the
formatldn of d University Grants Committee, which was formed in 1945 to oversee

I
Indian Higher E d u c a t i o n : the work of the three Central Universities of Aligarh, Banaras and Delhi. In 1947,
Policies a n d Plans
the Committee was entrusted with the responsibility of dealing with all the then
existing Universities.

Soon after Independence, the University Education Commission (UEC) was set
up in 1948 under the Chairmanship of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan "to report on Indian
univehity education and suggest improvements and extensions that might be
desirable to suit the present and future needs and aspirations of the country". It
recommended that the University Grants Committee be reconstituted on the general
model of the University Grants Commission of the United Kingdom with a full-%
time Chairman and other members to be appointed from amongst educationists of
repute.

In 1952, the Union Government decided that all cases pertaining to the allocation of
grants-in-aid from public funds to the Central Universities and other Universities
and institutions of higher learning might be referred to the University Grants
Commission. Consequently, the University Grants Commission (UGC) was formally
inaugurated by late Shri Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the then Minister of Education,
Natural Resources and Scientific Research on 28 December, [Link] Prime
Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, addressed the inaugural meet.

Figure 1 The Late Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, addressed the inaugural
meet

The UGC, however, was formally established only in November 1956 as a statutory
body of the Government of India through an Act of Parliament for the coordination,
determination and maintenance of standards of university education in India.
In order to ensure effective region-wise coverage throughout the country, the UGC
has decentralized its operations by setting up six regional centers at Pune, Hyderabad,
Kolkata, Bhopal, Guwahati and Bangalore.

Composition
The UGC comprises a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson 'and ten other members
appointed by the Central Government. The airpe person is selected from among
persons who are not officers of the Central or State governments. Of the ten
members, two represent the Central government (specifically, the ministries of
Human Resource Development and Finance) while at least four must be university
teachers at the time of their seIection. Other members are selected from amongst
eminent educationists and experts in various other fields.
Funding The Constitutional Provisions
Regarding Indian Higher
Education
In order to exercute its responsibilities, the UGC receives both Plan and Non-Plan
grants from the Central government. It allocates and disburses full maintenance
and development grants to all Central universibes, colleges affiliated to the Delhi
University and Bailaras Hindu University and some institutions that have been
accorded the status of 'Deemed to be University'. Skte universities, colleges and
other institutions of higher education receive support only from the Plan grant for
development schemes. In addition, the UGC also provides financial assistance to
universities and colleges under various scheines / programmes for promoting quality,
excellence, teaching and research i

Commission Highest
Decision Making Body

Ministry of
Education &

Comnzissio
Resource Requirements
Put up to Ministry and
Planning Coiiinzission
T@j- Allocation DEcisions

Working Group

1 Professional I
-+

czxzl I
Standing Conmmittee
to Universities and

-C___7 Expert Co~mttee of Resource

Utilisation

-+n Review Comnlittcc

Visiting T a n s
I I
I
University and
Colleges t
Figure 2 University Grants Commission

Mandate

-
The UGC has the unique distinction of being the only grant-giving agency in the
country which has been vested with two responsibilities: that of providing funds
and that of coordination, determination and maintenance of standards in
institutions of higher cducation.
The UGC's mandate includes:
Promoting and coord~natlnguniversity education.
Indian Higher Education:
Policies and Plans
Determining and maintaining standards of teaching, examination and research 1
in universities.
.- Framing regdlations on minimum standards of education.

Monitoring developments in the field of collegiate and university education;

disbursing grants to the universities and colleges.
Serving as a vital link between the Union and State governments and institutions
of higher learning.
Advising the Central and State governments on the measures necessary for
I
improvement of university education.
Some important ddetions 1
In the 195 1 draft of the Central council, whch was the forerunner of the present
day UGC, there were two crucial provisions which came to be subsequently
deleted One was to the effect that no university could describe itself as one.
unless the Centre approved it in specific terms. This implied that no new university
could be set up wthout the approval of the Central Council. The second Important
provision was m regard to derecognition of degrees The Central Council had
been vested with the power to do so, in case a university failed to perform at a
tolerable level.

However. in the UGC Bill, as finally adopted, both these crucial provisions were
deleted. Initially, it was also intended that the financial needs of the universities
would be determined by the UGC, but the finance rmnlst~ythought that &us power
transgressed on then responsibilities and would lead to divergent financial projections.
In spite of Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Pr~meMinister being in favour of
entrusting highly placed acadermcs with determining best ways of spend~ngwhat
resources were provrded to them, the final Bill watered down this provision. The
50s and the 60s saw the setting up of forty to fifty new universities, and presently,
the total number is about 220. While new institutions are set up, the old are provided
rnsufficient funds for operating at a high level. The number of colleges are being
added at the rate of more than 200 per year! Not that there is too much of higher
education; ~tis obvious that the demand is more than the supply. On the other hand,
there is a serlous point of view of finance as well as coordination being a bit
chaotic.
The UGC Act was amended in 1972 and was given the power to refuse grants to
universities whose establishment could be authorized only if they fulfilled conditions
regarding autonomy and fmances.

UGC- recent initiatives

Some of the major initiatives taken by the UGC in improving the quality and
standards of higher education are:

Improvements @ the quality and standards of teaching and researcl, through

prbgrammes for setting up ,Centres of Advanced Study and Research,
L
improvements in college teaching, strengthening research and infrastructure, etc.

Periodic review and renewal of curricular content of courses in various

disciplines, and special schemes for introduction of emerging areas of education
and training.
Establishment of common facilities for research networlung of resources for
infomation and documentation.

Induction of electronic media in higher education.

Y
 The Constitutional Provisions
Provision of scholarships and fellowships to studeffts. Regarding Indian Higher
Education
c Launching of special programmes for greater participation of women,
disadvantaged groups and the weaker sections in higher education,
During the Ninth Plan period (1 997-2002), general, development assistance to
individual universities was provided. The universities pnd colleges can utilize the
development assistance being provided by UGC fog consolidation of existing
infrastructure, for the modernization and also for extension and outreach
activities to meet the changing needs and challenges of higher education.
The UGC has been implementing the programme of Career Orientation to
Education (Vocationalisation of Education) since 1994-95, devised in conformity
with the National Policy of education, 1986 (revised in 1992). The purpose of this
programme is to ensure that the graduates have knowledge, skills and attitudes, for
gainful employment G the wage sector in general, and self-employment in particular,
so that undue pressure on post-graduate courses is reduced.
I
The UGC also supports universities financially t q meet cost of innoqative
programmes in new and emerging fields. Some of the areas are environmental
energy, biq-technol~gy,electronics, futurology, atmospheric sciences, remote
sensing sciences; superconductivity, computer applications, etc.
During the Ninth Plan, a programme of adult, continuing education, extension
and field outreach has been implemented. Financial assistance has been provided
to 85 universities during the Ninth Plan period for imp)ementing programmes such
as literacy, post literacy, continuing education, enHironment education, legal
literarcy, technology transfer, etc. Since the beginning of the Ninth Plan, the
UGC has also been deputing teachers from universities arid colleges to work with
Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS) and Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha (BJVJ).
The UGC has been providing financial assistance sinct 1986 for setting up study
centers or cells for women studies, which undeitakes research, develop
curricula and organize training and extension wotk in the areas of gender
i . equity, academic self-reliance of women, girls7 education, population issues, issues
: of women rights. social exploitation etc. At the end of the Ninth Plan, 34 Women
I Studies Centres in various universities are in operation. The UGC has also requested
; the Indlan universities to set up a permanent cell in eadh university for combating
sexual harassment of women in the university campuses as per the directions
i
F of the Supreme Court of India.
-

Self-assessment
2. Discuss the role of the UGC in the maintenance of standards. Also
discuss the constraints faced by UGC in the performance of its role.

................................................................................................................
1 ...............................................................................................................

1
.................................................................................................................
k

i
All India Council for Technical Ediuation (AZCTE)
The AICTE was set up in 1948 as an advisory body to G i s t the Central government
r
i in t h plannjng
~ and development of technical education at the post-secondary level.
r,: 2

E
Indian Higher Education: Education in Engineering and Technology, Architecture, Management and Pharmacy
Policies and Plans
is within the purview of the AICTE. In 1988, the AICTE was constituted as a
statutory body under an Act of Parliament.
The major function of the AICTE is the planned and coordinated development of
technical education in the country. In the performance of its functions, the AICTE
works in close coordination with the UGC as far as technical education programmes
offered by the Universities are concerned.
The AICTE coordinates, and supports the development of engineering
colleges, management education institutions and polytechnics engaged in the
training of technicians. ,Development support is provided by the AICTE to universities
(through the UGC) and engineering colleges and polytechcs for their expansion,
as also for improvements in their quality and standards.
Among the major programmes supported by the AICTE are review and renewal
of the curriculum for the education and training of engineers and technicians.
Modernization of the .laboratories and workshops, removal of obsolescence,
establishment of community polytechnics, technology forecasting, manpower planning,
training of teachers, preparation of norms of standards for programmes of education
and training in various disciplines at different levels, and extending the benefits of
technical and training to the backward and rural areas.
A significant feature in the development of technical education in the last two
decades or so is the emergend of self-financing institutions in private sector
which do not depend on government grants, but recover their costs from students
in the form of fees. Some of these institutions had their origin in what was then
known as "capitation fee" institutions which were set up by private agencies in
response to the increasing social demand for professional and technical education,
especially,in medicine and engineering. Most of them were charging exorbitant
fees, and the facilities provided, in many cases, were much below the essential
requirements. Legislative measures are being envisaged to regulate the levels of
fees that could be charged. There have also been legislations, and the Supreme
Court, dealing with a number of cases on the subject, has directed that the
Government and its agencies should lay down the principles on the basis of which
institutions could levy fees.
National Council for Teacher Education
The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) was set up in 1973 by a
Government resohtion as a national expert body to advise Central and State
governments on all matters pertaining to teacher education. The Council was made
a statutory body by an Act of Parliament in 1993.
The primary function of the Council is to ensure planned and coordinated development
of teacher education and determination and maintenance of its standards. For the
performance of this function, the Council lays down norms for specified categories
of courses for granting recognition to teacher training programme offered by various
institutions including universities and colleges.

Indian Council of Agricultural Research

The Indian Council 'of Agricultural Research (ICARO was established through a
Government resolution for promotion of agricultural education and research ih
the country. The Council functions under the supervision of the Ministry of
Agriculture.
Under the auspices of the Council, a number of research institutions and Agricultural
Universities have been set up in the country. The ICAR provides funds to these
institutions for their development.
 T h e Constitutional Provisions
@en University S y ~ f e m Regarding Indian Higher
Education
The country has also a developed an open university *stem and the Indira Gandhi
National Open University (IGNOU) set up in 1985 has nation wide jurisdiction in
the field of distance education. A Distance Education Council (DEC) has been
established as a statutory authority under the I G ~ O UAct, which provides
development funds placed at its disposal by the Central Government. The open
university network has established common pool of programmes consisting of
contributions from different open universities, which can be shared by any open
university through the process of adoption, adaptat& and transmission. IGNOU
has received international attention and recognition and the Commonwealth of
Learning has recently conferred the status of excellence in distance education on
, the IGNOU.

Arrangements in States
In respect of States, the administrative arrangementsbre more or less the same as
those prevailitig before 1947. The format basically remains the same, but some of
the details have been modified, for instance, every State has a Directorate of Public
i Instruction (DPI). Owing to large-scale expansion, however, some of the States
I

have a DPI each for primary education, secondary education and college education.
This however, is not the pattern in every State.
In addition, most States have Directors of Technical Education heading separate
departments. This Directorate might be handled by t& State Minister of Education
or by a separate minister. The Director of Technical Education, in addition to college
level institutions, also looks after Industrial ~ r a i n i n Institutions
i (ITIs) and other
similar institutes.
. a

Medical education is almost invariably a separate department and is usually looked

after by the Minister of Health. In some of the States there is also a Director of
Medical Education though in other states. This job is handled by the Secretary of
Health himself.
1

Similarly, in the case of agricultural education, the job is most often looked after by
the Secretary of Agriculture. Hardly any State h4s a Director of Agricultural
Education though some of the States do have agricultukal colleges: U.P., for instance,
has approximately two dozen of them.
The educational administration in the States is usually headed by Indian
Administrative Service personnel, members of whieh are transferable and hence
there is lack of intimate knowledge and commitment to this sphere of special concern.
\

Ministry of Human Resource Development

At the Central level, a new concept, that of human resource development, was
projected in 1985, and a ministry with that nomenclature was set up. In addition to
education, the Ministry of Human Resource Develqpment (HRD) looks after the
welfare of women and children and also sports. Edycation is not a ministry (as of
the middle of 1990) it is a department in the Ministry of HRD. Once again changes
may be in the offing.
At the State level, no such corresponding chahge has yet been made. In
consequence, different sectors of education are handled by different agencies. For
that matter, the ideal of coordination is far from realized even at the Centre. The
Apex Body or the National Cornrnission for Highet &cation as and when it is
established might be able to do something but it should be clear beyond doubt that
coordination at both Central and State levels leaves a Jot to be desired. State Councils
of Higher Education have also been visualized in tbe NPE, and some States have
come forward to set up such bodies in order to prdperly plan and support higher
education and to assist the UGC .in the coordination and determination of standards.
rndian Higher Education:
Policies and Plans
Plan -andnon p l a ~
grants
Budgeting in India distinguishes two sets of activities, one as Non-Plan or Non-.
Development or Maintenance budget, and the other as Plan or Development budget.
In actual practice, the difference is more procedural than real, although conceptually
the plan budget provides for growth diversification and innovation while the non-
plan takes care of sustenance of the on going system. All activities of recurring
nature taken up during plan period are classified as non plan or maintenance activities
after the p l a ~is over. Thus non plan or maint'enance budget grows in size after the
completion of every plan, the commitment is transferred to non plan part of the
budget.
The bulk of the funding in higher education comes from the States. Only Central
universities receive their maintenance grants from the UGC; the rest are funded by
the State governments. The agricultural universities receive Central funds. The
Technical universities and the Engineering faculties of other universities, get
development assistance through the UGC, while Engineering colleges in general
receive such assistance from the AICTE. There is some coordination between the
UGC and the AICTE. There is some coordination between the UGC and the AICTE
in this respect.
It may not be out of place to mention here that the Indian Institute of Technology
(IITs) are managed separately by the IIT Council which is presided over by the
Union Minister of Education. They are neither within the purview of the UGC nor
of the AICTE but have an independent status of their own as 'Institute of National
Importance'. The problem in respect of medical colleges is similar in that only
medical faculties of new universities receive plan grants through the UGC. Medical
colleges are related to the MCI and the Ministry of Health, but there is no satisfactory
arrangement for giving them proper support.
Out of 18 Central universities, 16 are being allocated development grants while 14
are being allocated maintenance grants in addition to development grants. During
2001-02, the UGC provided an amount of Rs.598.69 crores to meet the maintenance
expenditure of 14 universities and Rs.81.3 1 crores as development assistance to 16
Central universities.
According to section 12 (B) of the UGC Act, the State universities established
after 17 June 1972 shall not be eligible to receive any grants from the Central
government, UGC, or any other organization receiving funds from the ~overnment
&.India, unless the Commission satisfies itself as per the prescribed norms and
procedures, that such a university is fit to receive grants.
At present, there are 178 State universities. Out of these, the UGC has been making
budgetary plan allocation for only 110 excluding medical and agricultural universities.
However, the other State universities are benefiting from the UGC under various
other programme (like special grants). Development grants including grants for
specific schemes are provided to all eligible State universities in order to facilitate
procurement, augmentation and up gradation of infrastructure facilities that are
normally not available to universities from the State government governments or
other bodies supporting them. During the financial year 2001-02, Plan grants
amounting to Rs. 175.62 crores were provided to 123 state universities for the
p,urpose of development and 30 Deemed Universities have been provided plan grants
amounting to Rs. 20.87 crores. \

A review of the relationship between the UGC (as a mechanism of coordination)

and the colleges makes it amply clear while more than one-third of UGC budget is
spent on basic and develapment grants to established colleges, the total quantum is
woefully short since the npmber ofkolleges runs into thousands. Secondly, colleges
come to be established at the initiative and with the sanction of State governments
 who are then responsible for the maintenance grants. The UGC is not involved in The C0nstitutional Provisions
RegardSng Indian Higher
the process at an? stage. In fact, the UGC comes into the pictuie long after the Education
college has been established and has reached a certain stage of development so #
.

that'in terms of the number of students, faculty strength and the minimum of other
basic facilities, it qualifies to apply for UGC grants. ~ckordingto the UGC,-about a
third of the colleges do not come upto the standards which would attract UGC
assistance. On the other hand, both with respect to colleges and State-run universities,
when the UGC plan grants are provided, they often require a small share (for
example, in construction of hostels) as a token of participation of the. concerned
State government, and this share is scarcely available. At times, the State
: governments are unable to say whether by the end of a particular Plan, they'll be
able to take over the expenses of dispensing salaries to the staff concerned, this
again causes a situation of uncertainty. In the following section, let us get an idea
about budgeting.
I I
Self-assessment
3. Which is the entry in the Constitution that empowers the Centre to
exercise overall powers with regard to higher education?

4. What arrangements exist In the States wlth regard to higher education?

Also identijj the mechanisms established for coordination for this
purpose.

................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................ .

. .

................................................................................................................
" -
Table 1 Growth of recognized. educational institutions from 1950-51 to
2000-01
,
Year Colleges for Colleges for Universities
General Education Professional Education
1950-51 370 208 27
1955-56 466 218 31
1960-61 967 852 45
1965-66 '1536 770 64
1970-71 2285 992 82
1975-76 3667 **3276 101
1980-81 342 1 **3542 110
I ~ n d a nHigher Education:
Policies and Plans

(Source: Selected Educational Statistics 2000-200 1)

Other related issues

In this section, we propose to discuss two major constifutional provisions that impinge
on higher education. The first is an amendment,while the other relates to the power
of judicial review of the Supreme Court.
The forty-second constitutional amendment
After the imposition of Emergency in 1975, the Constitution was amended in a
number of respects. This was done in 1976 through the 42"* Amendment. One of
its provisions was to make education a concurrent subject. Higher education in
any case, was partly Central (because of the provisions' for coordination and
standards). Now the entire field of education, from primary to university level,
became a concurrent subject.
As pointed out, under the constitutional scheme, "education" is in the concurrent
list, and the Union government and States exercise joint responsibilities. As a result,
while the role and responsibilities of the States in regard to education remains
unaltered the Union government accepts a larger responsibility to reinforce the
integrated character of education to maintain quality and standards, to study. and
monitor the educational requirements of the country as a whole. The coordination
and cooperation between the two Union and States is brought about in the field of
education through the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE).
Judicial review and higher education
According to the Constitution, laws passed by the Parliament are subject to review
and interpretation by the court. This power of judicial review which has been

-
borrowed from the American Constitution, is one of the central features of the
Indian Constitution and has played a notable role in the evolution of public policies.
With regard to higher education a number of judgements have been given by the
courts. The most important of them was the one given in 1963 in respect of the
decision of Gujarat University to make Gujarati the sole medium of instruction and
examination. Thls decision was challenged by a student. The Supreme Court laid
down that since the medium of instruction had a direct bcaring on academic
standards, this decision of Gujarat University could hurt that objective. Hence the

I decision of Gujarat University was 'declared ultra vires.

Whether it was academically right or not to equate the role of the medium of ? h e Constitutional Provisions
Regarding Indian llighcr
instruction with the maintenance of high standards is a moot question and will continue Education
to be debated for long a time, but one definite outcome of this judgement was that
after that decision of the Supreme Court, the piimacy of Entry 66 (with regard to
the role of the Centre in coordinating and determining of standards) was fully
established. In a manner of speaking, it was open to the Centre or its instruments
like the UGC, to interpret any facet of activity as having a bearing on the maintenance
of standards and thereby insist upon compliance with the Central directive. On the
other hand, the early discussions regarding autonomy of the universities to lay down
or observe their own norms of academic functioning, made the UGC to tread the
path of maintenance of inter-university comparability of standards with great caution.
So much so that the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament had occasion to
repeatedly criticize the UGC for having become just a fuxiding body which neglected
enforcement of standards. In order to ensure a measure o f accountability and to
evaluate the performance of institutions on the basis of an objectively laid criteria,
a system of accreditation of institutions of higher learning has been evolved in the
aftermath of the 1986 Policy on Education.
As far as universities are concerned, the UGC took the initiative and established a
mechanism called National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC)
as an autonomous council under the aegis of the UGC to carry out periodical
assessment of universities and colleges in the country. The methodology developed
by NAAC for assessment involves:

0 a self-appraisal by each university / college on the basts of specified parameters

and documenting its performance with reference to tach of them;

e an assessment of the performance by an Expert Committee on the basis of

probes identified in respect of each parameter;

a peer review of the self-appraisal and expert's -tion; and

a judgement of the performance.

The NAAC has developed the instruments for carrying out the evaluation studies
and several universities and colleges have offered themselves for this
assessment.
Similarly, the AlCTE Act of 1988 envisages the establishment of accreditation
mechanisms for institutions offering technical education programmes. The AICTE
has since established a National Board of Accreditation,(NBA) to initiate the
accreditation of technical institutions. As a first step, the NBA has undertaken a
detailed exercise for benchmarking the performance of premier institutions so that
a frame of reference for the evaluation of the performance o f the institutions can
be initiated.

State Councils of Higher Education

One was the reco~nmendationmade by the National Policy in Education 1986 -
(NPE) was to set up State Councils of Higher Educationkin each State. While
formulating the policies, it was recognized that one problem which made functioning
at the State level difficult was that there was no professiond agency to deal with
higher education at the state level,.The agency in the form ofthe proposed council
would not only I~elpto plan and rationalize the funding of the universities, but also
tie up with UGC, to assist in coordination of higher educatiod and maintenance of
standards.
In accordance with the recommendations made by the NPE, the UGC set up a
committee to go into the question of the State Councils. The chairman of this
committee was an ex-Chairman of the UGC. In addition, four Vice-Chancellors
Indian Higher Education: and five Secretaries of education from different states were put on this committee.
Policies and Plans
The committee reported in July 1987. A month later came the judgement of the
Supreme Court which went against the U.G.C. and debarred it from proceeding
with the matter.

The situation was, however, resolved a little later when Andhra Pradesh decided to
pass a new Bill setting up State Council of Higher Education instead of persisting
with the Commissionarate. State Council has been set up in Andhra; but it is difficult
to evaluate its impact so far. The academic, as also the administrative functions of
the Council have been elaborated, and it could become a model, so to speak, for
other states. A couple of other states have moved in this direction (Tamil Nadu, for
instance) and before'long, most States would establish such Councils. Once that
**
happens, it is likely that there would be a certain degree of improvements in the
management of higher education at the State level. While one can, and a large
number of persons actually do, criticize the functioning of the UGC and its failure
to perform the task entrusted to it, it should never be overlooked that dnspite its
infirmities and constraints, the UGC continues to play an important role in respect
of a sector of higher education.

Summary
A review and analysis of the arrangements and mechanisms of coordination at the
Centre and the States tells us that, as compared to the States, the Centre has much
greater access to funding. Also, there is a greater degree of professionalism in
Central operation6 and planning. But what is missing at both levels is the right kind
of coordination. Even at the Central level, there is hardly any coordination among
the various bodies which deal with higher education.

Real action, however, is at the State le--[el. It is of considerable significance,

therefore, that things improve at that level. While academic improlement depends
upon how' teachers perform, the financial and the managerial aspects are both
controlled by the State governments. That is why it is important that thing? improve
there.

Once the State Councils are set up in different states, it is hoped that the
management structure at the State level would improve. A good deal will depend
upon the choice of those who are asked to man these councils. If they are peopie
of ability and integrity, it would make a marked difference. But if they are people
who lack both stature and a professional approach to problems, the situation may
not change in any significant way.

Unit-end activities
1. Is your university a [Link] a Central university? What are the mechanisms of.
its funding?

2. Briefly discuss about the courses that are funded by UGC in your university1
college.

Pointsfor dIscusswn
1: What are the different courses in your university that receive hnds from UGC?
What is the enrolment pattern of boys and girls in various courses?

2. Do universities have women hostel? If they have, how effective they are in
enhancing the enrolments of girls.
 The Constitutional Provisions
Suggested
* readings Regarding Indian Higher
Education
Azad, J.L. 11976), "State Grants to Collegiate Institutions - A Study of Patterns
and Procedures", Journal of Higher Education, 2, (2) Autumn.
Naik, J. P. (1972), Access, Structures and Quality in Higher Education: Some
Suggestions for Reorganisation, (Princes Lilavathii Memorial Lecture-2)
Prasaranga: University of Mysore.
Naik, J. P. (1970), "Union-State Relations in Educatioq: Their Implications for
Educational Administration", Indian Journal of Public Administration, XVI (3).
Singh, Amrik (1970), "The Reconstituted UGC ", Economic and Political Weekly,
V (33), 15 August.
Singh, Amrik (1965),
..
Educational Planning in India, Benaras: Allied Publishers.
Annual Report 2002-2003, Department of Elementary Education and Literacy,
Department of Secondary and Higher Education, MHRD, Government of-India.