Varsities can start new centres, hire foreign faculty — but with own money

NEW DELHI: Universities will henceforth be granted graded autonomy, with institutions with a better track record getting the freedom to start their own courses, departments, centres and schools, provided they generate their own funds rather than demand these from the government.

They will also be permitted to hire faculty at higher packages than the UGC scale if they are able to raise resources for the extra payment.

In a notification issued for the purpose, the University Grants Commission has decided to accord Category-I status to institutions with a National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) grade of over 3.51 on a scale of 4. Those with a grade between 3.26 and 3.5 will be in Category-II. All others will be in Category-III and get no autonomy beyond what is already available.

The permissions given to Category-I institutions include the power to start off-campus centres — within their geographical jurisdiction — and skill centres without UGC approval, provided they are able to raise funds for the same.

They have also been given the freedom to hire foreign faculty members who have taught in any of the top 500 institutions of the world on contract basis. They are also permitted to enrol foreign students — with no cap on the fees charged from them — on merit basis, subject to a maximum of 20% over and above the domestic student strength.

Category-II institutions will also have similar freedom.

Speaking to The Hindu , a UGC official who did not wish to be named said that the idea was to offer top institutions as much freedom as possible to pursue excellence.

However, some Delhi University teachers wonder how funds will be internally raised by universities, as this could lead to fee hikes and make education “inaccessible” to the poor.

The UGC official said there were many ways to achieve this, fee hikes being only one.

“Institutions can offer consultancy and go for industry collaborations. They can increase the student intake in popular courses. They can charge foreign students whatever fee they wish to. They can also hike fees for popular courses,” the official said.