New Delhi, March 5: After dragging its feet for a year on Sam Pitroda-headed National Knowledge Commission’s recommendation for cleaning up the regulatory mechanism in the higher education sector, Arjun Singh’s Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has — post a stern diktat from the Prime Minister’s Office — finally agreed to review the country’s two top regulators, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Sources said that the PMO’s intervention had led to this “review” exercise — a first time since the UGC was formed in 1956 and the AICTE in 1987.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had asked for a review in the Planning Commission meeting last September. Noted physicist and former UGC chairman Prof Yashpal has been asked to head the mammoth 27-member panel, and it has invited Cornell University’s Professor of Economics and International Studies, Prof Kaushik Basu, to be on board. The panel has been asked to give its report within a year.

Issued on February 28, the directive which has caused a ripple in the academic circle for its unprecedented scope, says, “There is a need to review the role of statutory bodies like the UGC and the AICTE in the context of changes in higher, professional and technical education in the country and demands of a new knowledge economy.”

Defining the scope, the first of the 10 terms of reference says, the panel will “review the functioning of the UGC and AICTE and critically assess the role of UGC/ AICTE and their preparedness to provide institutional leadership to the emerging demands of access, equity, relevance and quality of higher and technical education and the university system.” The directive, issued by HRD Ministry’s joint secretary, Ravi Mathur asks for “review of the provisions of the UGC Act and AICTE Act”.

In tune with National Knowledge Commission’s recommendations, the panel has been asked to look at the “role of the UGC in coordinating standards of higher education vis-à-vis the functional role of other statutory bodies such as the AICTE, Medical Council of India, Dental Council of India, National Council for Teachers’ Education, Distance Education Council and other regulatory bodies”. It asks for an “assessment” of the “autonomy” of the UGC vis-à-vis the “Central Government” and that of the University system vis-à-vis the UGC.

Besides, the panel will also look into transparency and efficiency in their functioning, as well as declaration of deemed universities.

The panel has some reputed names from the academic field: former National Law School’s vice-chancellor N R Madhava Menon, former Indian Institute of Science’s director Goverdhan Mehta, Jamia Millia Islamia’s vice-chancellor Mushirul Hasan, IIT-Chennai’s director M S Ananth and IIT-Kanpur’s chairman Anandkrishnan. It will also have secretaries of Planning Commission, Finance, Higher Education as its members.