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University Grant Commission

Soon after Independence, the University Education Commission was set up in 1948 under the Chairmanship of Dr. S Radhakrishnan to report on Indian university 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.

hi 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 1953.

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 decentralised its operations by setting up six regional centres at Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bhopal, Guwahati and Bangalore. The head office of the UGC is located at Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in New Delhi, with two additional bureaus operating from 35, Feroz Shah Road and the South Campus of University of Delhi as well.

The 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 education. The UGC՚s mandate includes:

  • Promoting and coordinating university education.
  • Determining and maintaining standards of teaching, examination and research in universities.
  • Framing regulations 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 improvement of university education.

Composition

The UGC comprises a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and ten other members appointed by the Central Government. The Chairperson 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 selection. Other members are selected from amongst eminent educationists and experts in various other fields.

Funding

In order to execute 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 Universities, colleges affiliated to the Delhi

University and Banaras Hindu University and some institutions that have been accorded the status of ‘Deemed to be University’ State 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 schemes/programmes for promoting quality, excellence, teaching and research.