Centre’s move to scrap UGC faces opposition’s criticism

The central government’s move to scrap the University Grants Commission has faced strong criticism from the opposition parties, when a question regarding the proposed move has been raised during the question hour today.

An opposition member has questioned the intention, which has prompted the government to decide to replace the UGC with a less powerful institution of Higher Education Commission of India.

Another member has asked whether the move to scrap the UGC is an intentional effort to remove the subject of higher education from the domain of the state list, one of the three prime lists in which the state has exclusive rights to make policies. Several other opposition members have expressed similar doubts.

While answering the questions triggered against the proposed HECI bill of the central government during the question house of the parliament, the Union Human Resource Development, Prakash Javadekar, has said that the central government had no plan to take over the exclusive right of the states to make policies on those matters pertaining to the higher education sector of the country. He has claimed that the proposed institution would be more powerful than the UGC. He has requested the members to wait until the bill is tabled in the parliament for its member’s consideration.

Vignesh. S. G

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