Eleventh Five Year Plan

24 Eleventh Five Year PlanBox 1.3.1Private Sector Participation in Higher EducationPast experience shows that private mechanism has been responsible for setting up of some first rate institutions:• Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai were establishedby J.N. Tata with the vision and aim of advancing the scientific capabilities of the country.• The renowned Santiniketan, presently Viswa-Bharati University, was founded by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore inearly 1900s.• Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), one of the finest management schools in India, was founded in 1949 byFr Quinn Enright in the Steel City of Jamshedpur with a vision of ‘renewing the face of the earth’.• The Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS), Pilani, whose founder is the noted industrialist G.D. Birla, was startedin early 1900s as a small school that grew to become a premier engineering institution. Today, BITS has campuses in Goa,Hyderabad, and Dubai. The Birla Education Trust is one of the biggest educational trusts in the private sector in ourcountry.• The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) was established in 1936, as the Sir Dorabji Tata Graduate School of SocialWork. It was the first school of social work in India and in 1944 was renamed as TISS. In 1964 it was recognized as adeemed university by UGC.• The International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Hyderabad is an autonomous, self-supporting institutionwith major national and international IT companies being actively involved in its academic programmes through theircorporate schools on the campus.• Vidyanagari in Baramati offers courses from Primary Education to Masters Degree. The Trust runs a Law College,Engineering College, Biotechnology College, and an Institute of Information Technology.agreed to encourage their universities, colleges, andtechnical institutes to become members of INFLIBNETand Indian National Digital Library for EngineeringSciences and Technology (INDEST).Autonomous Status1.3.15 During the Tenth Plan, the target was to accordautonomous status to 10% of eligible colleges. Atpresent 132 colleges under 29 universities are autonomous.However, the number of institutions that haveutilized their autonomous status in launching newcourses and innovative methods either in teaching ormanagement appears to be extremely limited.Science Education1.3.16 The proportion of students opting for Sciencecourses is far too low. Consequently, a large segmentof our graduates are inadequately equipped to meetthe changing needs of the emerging labour market.All India Council for TechnicalEducation (AICTE)1.3.17 The AICTE was set up in 1945, and was givenstatutory status in 1987 for coordinated developmentof Technical Education, promotion of qualitative improvement,and maintenance of norms and standards.National Board of Accreditation (NBA)1.3.18 NBA has also become a provisional memberof the Washington Accord. This will ensure acceptanceof its accreditation procedure amongst the membercountries of the Accord. So far about 1924 programmeshave been considered for accreditation.HIGHER EDUCATION: TARGETS ANDSTRATEGIES IN ELEVENTH PLANSetting a Reforms Agenda1.3.19 An Inter-Ministerial Working Group should beset up to work out a detail reforms agenda on outlinesgiven below.(i) ADMISSION, CURRICULUM, AND ASSESSMENT• Common calibration and admission based on CommonEntrance Test and/or other relevant criteriafor at least professional and PG courses in CU in thefirst phase.• Universalizing the semester system.• Continuous internal evaluation and assessment toeventually replace annual examinations.• Introducing Credit System to provide students withthe possibility of spatial and temporal flexibility/mobility.