National Education Policy: UGC, AICTE, NAAC To Be Merged In A New Body
New Delhi: Union Cabinet approved the National Education Policy 2020, thus ushering in a new era of school and higher education in India. One of the key changes which NEP will implement is the setting up of a 'single overarching umbrella body for the entire higher education', Higher Education Commission of India (HECI).
Though there will be a single body, there will be distinct and independent bodies which will each assume separate functions of accreditation, funding, and academic standard setting. These bodies will replace autonomous bodies like University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), and National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
The first vertical of HECI will be the National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC). It will function as a common, single point regulator for the higher education sector including teacher education but excluding medical and legal education. Up until now, UGC was responsible for regulating higher education, AICTE regulated technical and engineering education, and NCTE was responsible for regulating teacher training and education.
The second vertical of HECI will be the National Accreditation Council (NAC). NAC will accredit institutes based on basic norms, public self-disclosure, good governance, and outcomes.
The third vertical will be Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC) which will facilitate funding and financing of higher education based on transparent criteria.
The fourth vertical of HECI will be the General Education Council (GEC). It will frame expected learning outcomes for higher education programmers, also called 'graduate attributes'. GEC will also frame a National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF).
Functioning of HECI and all its verticals will be transparent. Use of technology is also stressed in NEP to reduce human interface to ensure efficiency and transparency in their work.
The professional councils such as the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), Veterinary Council of India (VCI), National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), Council of Architecture (CoA), National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) etc., will act as Professional Standard Setting Bodies (PSSBs).
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Conspiracy afoot to 'tarnish' image of Dharmasthala: Deputy CM DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru, Aug 14 (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said there was a “conspiracy” to tarnish the image of Dharmasthala.
His comments come amid an ongoing investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into serious allegations of mass burials in the revered temple town in Dakshina Kannada district.
“A conspiracy is being hatched to destroy hundreds of years of legacy. It is not correct to tarnish someone just like that. It has all happened due to one complainant,” he said.
Noting that some Congress MLAs have called for action against those involved in the slander campaign at the legislature party meeting, he said, “ I have told them that action must be taken against those who are indulging in a slander campaign. The CM has also said that action must be taken against such people.”
“I have information on this case. Religious feelings should not be hurt in any manner. Culprits must be punished,” he told reporters, according to a release from his office.
Responding to a question, Shivakumar said the Congress party will not allow the image of any religious place to be tarnished.
“We see everyone equally when it comes to religion,” he added.
The SIT, formed by the state government, is probing claims of mass murder, rape, and mass burials in Dharmasthala over the past two decades.
The complainant, a former sanitation worker whose identity has not been revealed, alleged that between 1995 and 2014 he was forced to handle bodies—including women and minors—and that some showed signs of sexual assault. He has given a statement before a magistrate.
As part of the probe, the SIT has been conducting exhumations at multiple locations identified by the complainant-witness in the forested areas along the banks of the Netravathi River in Dharmasthala, where some skeletal remains have been found at two sites so far.
