The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has found that the present structure of the Kerala State Higher Education Council does not comply with the norms under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA).
The key observation was made in the MHRD’s comments on Kerala’s Higher Education Plan while referring to the appointment of T.P. Sreenivasan, present vice-chairman of the State Higher Education Council. The Plan document was prepared by the Higher Education Council in association with other stakeholders.
Quoting the RUSA document, the Department of Higher Education pointed out that “Vice-Chairman must be an eminent academic administrator with proven record (rank of a Professor). In other cases, it could be a professional from industry etc., with sufficient experience in the sector.”
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The RUSA Resource Centre, which is responsible for vetting the Kerala Higher Education Plan, said “Mr. T.P. Sreenivasan, former Ambassador and permanent representative of India to the UN, is the current vice-chairman of the SHEC [State Higher Education Council].”
The Department of Higher Education has turned down the State’s request to extend financial assistance of Rs.76.56 crore for filling up 320 faculty positions under the 12th Plan Period based on the inference that the student-teacher ratio of the State is 30:1. The State has to give a commitment to bring down the ratio to 20:1 to receive funds for filling faculty positions, it said.
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The MHRD has also rejected the government’s proposal to upgrade three existing degree colleges to model degree colleges located in Wayanad, Palakkad, and Malappuram. The Department of Higher Education has made it clear that the government must encourage all higher education institutions to apply for accreditation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council. It has also urged the authorities to include non 12 (b) universities to receive infrastructure grant under RUSA.