A HEERA of an idea! How Modi plans to reform India’s education
By Robolab Technologies In More InfoNew HEERA of education
Promoted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a major disruption is on its way to change India’s education sphere.
As per the proposed legislation, the existing higher education watchdogs like University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE will be replaced by Higher Education Empowerment Regulation Agency (HEERA).
Here is lowdown about Modi’s HEERA project:
The proposal
The proposal to inject the radical changes in the education sector was taken after a meeting on education chaired by the prime minister in early March.
New law to come up soon
The human resource development (HRD) ministry and the Niti Aayog are working on the new law.The committee has, among others, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and higher education secretary KK Sharma as members.
HEERA’s objective
The main motive behind scrapping of UGC and AICTE by a single regulator is to eliminate all overlaps in the jurisdiction and do away with regulatory provisions that may no longer be relevant.
The inception of the Idea
The idea to replace the multiple regulatory authorities with a single and streamlined one is not new – several committees including the Yashpal Committee and the National Knowledge Commission of the UPA era and the Hari Gautam Committee set up by this government have recommended the same – the reform never happened.
Greater synergy
The separation of technical and nontechnical education is outmoded and out of sync with global practices, and that a single regulator will bring in greater synergy among institutions and in framing curricula.
No beating around the bush
HEERA is aimed to put an end to the inspector raj and harassment that the UGC regime is associated with. The new body will also be empowered to take strong penal action when necessary.
Time-consuming process
The scrapping of the UGC and AICTE will be a time-consuming process. The government will have to take interim measures and will also have to make amendments and modifications to AICTE, UGC Acts and regulations.
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