UNIT 4 IllGHEREDUCATIONINSTITUTIONS:

THE STRUCTURAL BASIS AT MACRO

LEVEL

Structure
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Objectives
4.3 Higher Education Structure and Institutions
4.3.1 Structure of Higher Education
4.3.2 The Universities

4.4 Ministries and Agencies in Higher Education

4.5 University Programmes and Schedule
4.6 Financing Higher Education in India
4.7 Role and Function of the UGC
4.8 Administration of Higher Education at the State Level
4.9 Summary
4.10 Suggested Readings

4.1 INTRODUCTION
The term Higher Education, in India, refers to post-secondary (post-plus two) or
tertiary level education. All institutions imparting instruction leading to a university
degree or an equivalent, may be termed as institutions of higher education.

Higher education in India has expanded tremendously during the post-

independence period. The expansion of the system normally refers to one, or a
combination, of the following:

• an increase in the number of institutions;

• a growth in student enrolment;
• an increase in the number of teaching and non-teaching staff;
-. the diversified structure in-terms of courses, institutional structures and
management styles; and I
• an enhancement of expenditure on the operation and development of the
system.
At present, higher education in India is a gigantic enterprise, employing a large
number of personnel, incurring an annual expenditure of millions of rupees and
teaching a large body of students. As of November 2003, there were 330
universities including deemed to be universities, 15 institutions of national
importance over 13,000 colleges (excluding Junior Intermediate Colleges, and
institutions offering Diploma/Certificate courses), and about 9.5 million students
studying in these institutions.

The Indian higher education system though vast in absolute terms caters to only
about 70 percent of the population in the age group of 18-23 years. This is about
5
Structure of Higher the same as the percentage of 6 per cent obtained in low-income countries. In
Education
comparison the middle income countries have enrolment of about 21 percent
and developed countries of over 50 per cent in higher education (World Bank
1994). It is necessary to increase the enrollment to at least 20 per cent; a percentage
that is considered essential for sustained economic development.

The management of such a big system presents a major challenge to education

administrators. The pattern and style of management are, in a major way,
determined by the structure and organisation of higher education in India. In this
Unit an attempt has been made, to give you an overall idea of the structure and
organization of higher education in India.

4.2 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to:
• acquaint yourself with the structure and organization of higher education
system in India;
• explain the pattern of the financing of higher education in India;
• analyse the roles of functions of the University Grants Commission and
other agencies concerned with higher education; and
• assess the effectiveness of the administrative style of higher education, at
the state and institutional level.

4.3 HIGHER EDUCATION STRUCTURE AND

INSTITUTIONS
Higher education in India is primarily a public funded activity. However, its
structure and organisation are complex and varied. There are different agencies
and departments involved in its operation. The agencies are mainly the Ministries
at the Federal and State levels, autonomous organisations set up by the Ministries
an- the private organisations or trusts. There are also Ministries, other than those
responsible for education, which are involved in higher education in India. Simply
put the Indian higher education system is both vast and complex. The complex
arises from the great variety in the mix of the university level institutions and
from the multiplicity in nomenclature.

4.3.1 Structure of Higher Education

In the Indian system, higher education includes the education imparted after the
10+2 stage - ten years of primary and secondary education followed by two
years of higher secondary education. The first degree, the Bachelor's degree, is
obtained after three years study in the case of liberal arts, and four years in the
case of most professional degrees. The research degrees (M.Phil and Ph.D) take
variable time depending upon the individual student (See Figure). The post
graduate degree programme involves two years of study after first degree. The
minimum period of an M. Phil degree in one and half year and Ph. D a further
two years. However, in most cases a Ph. D degree requires four years. The highest
degrees D. Litt and D. Se are awarded after the Ph. D degree for original
contributions of the highest order.

,
 In addition to the degree courses, a number of diploma and certificate courses Higher Education
Institutions: The Structural
are also available in universities. Their range is wide and they cover anything Basis at Macro Level -
from poetry writing to computers. Most of the short-term (3 months to 1 year)
certificate and diploma courses are meant for undergraduate students and have a
vocational bias. Many universities are now offering a variety of ~hort-term courses
to enable the students to pick up additional qualifications that would be helpful
in obtaining empl5'yment. Most universities offer post -graduate diploma courses
. in professional areas. Th,~i;~duration is usually one year, but there are also three
. years programmes, more or less equivalent to masters Programme, for those
who are already employed:

4.3.2 The Universities

The university-level institutions in the Indian higher education system are basically
of three types - the conventional universities, usually referred to simply as
universities; the deemed-to-be universities, or deemed universities; and the
institutions of national importance.

Conventional Universities are tertiary-level institutions that are established

through Acts of Parliament or State Legislatures. They are almost entirely funded
by Governments. The-universities that are established by Acts of Parliament are
funded by the Central Government and are commonly referred to as Central
Universities. The-Universities established by Acts of State Legislatures are funded
by the respective State Governments and are referred to as State Universities.
Examples of central universities are Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh; Banaras
Hindu University, Varanasi; University of Delhi; Delhi and lawaharlal Nehru
University, Delhi. Examples of state universities are the University of Pune,
Pune and Madnis University, Chennai.

Deemed Universities are institutions that are deemed-to-be-universities for the

purposes of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. The Deemed University
status is conferred by the Central Government, on the advice of the University
Grants Commission, work of high quality in specialised academic fields.
Examples are the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal and Tata
Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

Institutions of National Importance are institutions established, or so

designated, by Acts of Parliament that undertake teaching and research in areas
that are critical to national development. Examples are the seven Indian Institutes
of Technology, and Sree Chitra Tirunailnstitute for Medical Sciences and
Technology, Trivandrum.
.
The Universities alone are empowered to grant degrees, and additionally Diplomas
and Certificates, depending upon the nature of the programmes. Other institutions
can only award Fellowships, Diplomas and Certificates. The Fellowship of the
Indian Institutes of Management is generally equated with a Ph.D degree, and
the Post-Graduate Diploma with the MBA.

The Universities are also described as being Unitary or Affiliating. In the case of
Unitary Universities (e.g. Banaras Hindu University) the teaching and research
is conducted on a single campus (sometimes with subsidiary campuses) and
there is a provision for both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, as also for
research. The best examples are the Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi;
7
 Structure of Higher University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad; Pondicherry University, Pondicherry that
"Education
are all Central universities.

Affiliating Universities are those that have central campus on which there are
departments or schools that impart postgraduate instruction and conduct research.
They have a variable number of colleges affiliated to them and these may be
distributed over a number of districts, in accordance with the jurisdiction of the
university. The colleges mostly do undergraduate teaching though some of them
may be permitted to conduct postgraduate classes in select subjects. Most Indian
universities are of the affiliating types with the larger ones like Calcutta, Mumbai,
Osmania and Bangalore having more than 300 affiliated colleges.

The majority of Indian Universities are funded by the' Governments - Central or

State. Some of the deemed universities are sponsored by private trusts. These
include Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani and.the Thapar Institute
of Engineering and Technology, Patiala. Recently, in a few states private
universities have been established under Acts of Legislatures, e.g. the Sikkim-
Manipal University of Health, Media and Technological Sciences in Sikkim and
the Amity University in Chattisgarh.

Colleges
The bulk of undergraduate teaching is done in colleges. These are of two types -
the constituent colleges and the affiliated colleges.

Constituent Colleges, also known as Conducted Colleges, are those that are
established and managed by the University.

Affiliated Colleges are those that are set-up and managed, outside the university
campus, either by the government or by educational trusts.

The power of granting affiliation to a college usually vests with the universities
and this power is generally exercised in consultation with the government
concerned. Most colleges impart education in the liberal-arts including Arts,
Social Sciences, Sciences, and Commerce. However, there are also' many
professional colleges that impart education in one of the professional disciplines
like Law, Medicine, Engineering and Technology and management. Though quite
a few, professional colleges are funded and managed by the government the
majority are now privately managed. As per the Rastriya Uccha ShikshaAbhiyan
52% of higher education learners are pursuing studies from private institutions.

4.4 MINISTRIES AND AGENCIES IN HIGHER

EDUCATION
It is worth mentioning that, higher education in India is not the exclusive
responsibility of the Ministry of Education. There are many other ministries and
agencies directly involved in higher education. We will briefly discuss the
structures at the macro-level.

Ministry of Human Resource Development

The Department of Secondary and Higher Education of the Union Ministry of
Human Resource Development (MHRD) is the major agency concerned with
8

,
higher education. The Ministry operates normally through the UGc. The UGC Higher Education
Institutions: The Structural
is a quasi-independent body set up to discharge the responsibility of coordinating Basis at Macro Level
and maintaining standards in the fields of higher education. More specifically,
the UGC takes charge of the general higher education in Arts, Sciences, Commerce
and professional education which are under the multi-faculty universities. It needs
to be noted that Regional Engineering Colleges and IITs which have departments
of Humanities and Social Sciences, are not under the purview of the UGc. A
separate section in this unit, outlines the role and functions of the UGc.

Engineering and Technical education is 'handled by a separate unit in the MHRD.

Important decisions in this area, and on institutions, are taken with the advice
and assistance of the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE).

Ministry of Agriculture
The Ministry of Agriculture has assumed responsibility of the agricultural
education in India. All the Agricultural Universities function under this Ministry.
In agricultural education, the Ministry operates through the Indian Council of
Agricultural Research (ICAR). The agricultural universities are established by
the Ministry, in co-operation with the state governments. It needs to be noted
that agricultural departments affiliated to various multi-faculty universities come
with the purview of the UGc.

Ministry of Health
The Ministry of Health looks after medical education. The Medical Council of
India (MC I) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) assist the
Ministry in the. planning and development of medical educ.:~tioQ. The MCI
determines the minimum standards of medical education necessary for granting
medical degrees. The ICMR strives to promote research in medicine and provides
funds for medical research. Other councils that look after specialise areas of
medicine are the Central Council for Homeopathy (CCH) and the Central Council
of Indian Medicine (CCIM) .
.::?

Ministry of Law
The legal education is under the Ministry of Law. The Bar Council of India
(BCI) is concerned with legal studies in India. Generally BCI is concerned with
the first degree in law, while the post-graduate and research studies are under
universities, and hence these come under the purview of the UGC.

Specialised agencies for promotion of research

A number of bodies have been set up outside the framework of the university
system to direct and support research. The Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR), under the Department of Science and Technology, is a planning
and coordiriating body operating through a chain of national laboratories and
institutions. The Council undertakes and supports pure and applied research,
provides junior and senior fellowships, funds research projects and maintains a
record of scientific and technical personnel. Similar functions are performed by
Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) in the field of Social Science;
Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) in the field of historical studies;
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in the area of space research, etc.
Among the above agencies, the ICSSR has a few branches at the regional level.

9
Stmcture of Higher To sum up, the organisation of higher education in India is a complex one. The
Education
type of universities normally included are - Central universities, State universities
and deemed- to-be universities. Some ofthem fall within the purview of the UGC,
while the others are looked after by the different agencies working under the
respective Min istries. The various Ministries and their specialised agencies are
involved with professional higher. education in the country. However, there are
certain specialised agencies like CSIR, ICMR, ICHR, ICSSR, ISRO, etc. which
have the overall responsibility of planning and coordinating high quality research
in their respective specialised areas.

Check Your Progress 1

Note: Answer your questions in the space provided below.
1) What are the affiliation criteria that a college has to fulfill before it is
granted the status of affiliated college by a university?

2) Following are the few statements on the management system of higher

education institutions. Examine each statement and identify whether it
is true or false
a) The Regional Engineering Colleges and IITs which have
departments of Humanities and Social Sciences function under the
purview of the UGC.
b) The All India Medical Council determines the minimum standards
of medical education that are necessary for granting medical
degrees.
c) The post-graduate and research studies in law come under the
overall council of the All India Bar Council.

4.5 UNIVERSITY PROGRAMMES AND

SCHEDULE
.Academic year
In India the academic year usually begins in June or July and ends in March or
April. Institutions located in mountainous areas (about one or two per cent of the
total) follow a different schedule, beginning in March and going on to December.
In most universities, which follow all annual examination pattern, the academic
year is divided into three terms. An increasing number of universities are now
convening to tile semester system. There is no organised teaching during summer
vacations. The accepted norm is that of 180 actual teaching days during the
academic year, but it is not always attained.

10
Medium of instruction Higher Education
Institutions: The Structural
In case of the professional courses, and subjects in the Science; the medium of Basis at Macro Level
instruction is almost exclusively English. In the Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences
and Commerce faculties it is both English and the regional language. At the
postgraduate level instructions are usually in English and the regional language.

Educational programmes
The educational programmes generally involve study of a fixed number of course
with little flexibility, at least at Bachelor's level. In the case of liberal education
a student usually takes four subjects in the first year, three in the second, and one
(Honours degree) or three (General or Pass degree) in the third. There may be
restrictions on the subjects that can be chosen. For example, subjects of the
Science stream cannot be taken with those of Arts and Humanities (exception
Mathematics and Geography), and

Within the Science programme it is usually not permissible to take Mathematics

and Physics with Botony or Zoology. The professional courses (except Medicine)
follow the semester pattern. However, efforts are underway to accord greater
flexibility.

Admission
For securing admission to undergraduate programmes in universities a student
needs to have passed a senior secondary school examination taken after twelve
years of schooling. This includes the Senior School Certificate. Examination of
the Central Board of Secondary Education, or the Indian School Certificate
Examination or a Senior Secondary Certificate Examination conducted by one
of the State Boards for Secondary Schools in India. However, adult learners who
have not passed these examinations can obtain admission to programmes of open
universities after passing an entrance examination.

Admission to non-professional colleges is usually not difficult, except in the

case of some selecte~ colleges in metropolitan towns where there is a strong
competition. Entry into professional colleges, e.g. in Medicine, Engineering,
Pharmacy, Dentistry, Architecture, Management or Agriculture is much more
difficult because of the limited number or seats available, and is generally based
on a separate admission test. Admission tests for the seven Indian Institutes of
Technology, the six Indian Institutes of Management, and the All India Institute
of Medical Sciences at Delhi and Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education
& Research, Chandigarh are the most competitive.

At the postgraduate level, admission is restricted and only the above-average

students can hope to get admission. Certain institutions, because of their
reputation, are more sought after than others. In a recent development, some
universities have started their own tests for admission to postgraduate classes.

Admission to M.Phil courses, which were started in the 70s, as pre-Ph.D

programme, is competitive. About 50 per cent of universities have instituted this
course which until recently was the minimum qualification for appointment as a
lecturer. In the M. Phil programme there is an emphasis on course work of
advance-level, thougha dissertation is also required.

11
Structure of Higher Students are admitted to Ph.D courses on satisfying their supervisors as regards
Education
their competence and genuine interest in research. The admission is approved by
the board of studies, in some cases on the recommendation of a Research
Committee, and approved by the Hoard of Teaching and Research of the
University. During the last decade there has been a spurt In Ph.D minimum
qualification for appointment as lecturer or for further promotion for those who
are already lecturers. To ensure (Lecturership) and to pursue research: , the, UGC
and the CSIR now conduct ajoint selection, the National Eligibility Test (NET),
twice a year. At the state-level there are State Eligibility Tests.

4.6 FINANCING HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA

The pattern of financing higher education closely follows its organisational
structure elaborated in the previous 'sectious. The financial support to a university
is provided through different sources and channels. Let us first discuss the sources
of university finances in India.

Source of Funding
The income of a university in India, is derived from the following sources:
i) Grants from the Central Government;
ii) Grants from the State Governments;
iii) Contributions from students' fees;
iv) Endowments, donations, etc; and
v) Financial support from different specialised agencies

A general trend that seems to have emerged over the years is the decline of
income of universities from all sources other than the Government. At present,
more than three-fourths of the total income of the universities comes from the
governmental sources. Consequently, the share of contribution to university
finances from other sources such as fees and donations, has declined. Donations
are, by definition, voluntary contributions, and therefore, the public .authorities
cannot exercise coercive measures to increase contribution from this source.
The student fee on the other hand, is a compulsory payment. The share from this
. source has come down, primarily because the fee structure and the amount of
fees levied on students have remained almost unaltered. As noted earlier, the
major share of the expenditure is from the public exchequer. And the funds from
this source are given in the form of grants channeled through different agencies.
Let us see the nature of grants and the channels through which they flow to
universities. A development of recent years is the reluctance of Governments -
Central and State - to loosen their purse strings for higher education because of
the globalization and privatization trends. This has encouraged private providers
to step in.

Channels of funding
The development of university education in India is the joint responsibility of
the Central Government and the State Governments. As mentioned above, there
are four types of institutional structures within the university system in India i.e.
Central universities, State universities, Deemed-to-be universities and Institutes
of National Importance. Of these, the central universities, deemed-to-be
12
universities are largely funded by the federal government and the funds are Higher Education
Institutions: The Structural
channeled through the UGc. The institutions of national importance and the Basis at Macro Level
National Open University are directly funded by the Central government.

The responsibility for maintenance of State universities, lies with the State
governments. However, they get grants from the Central government channeled
through specialised bodies like the UGC in the area of general higher education,
the ICAR in the area of agricultural education, the ICMR in the area of medical
education, and so on, which are set up for this purpose. In fact. the mechanism
and pattern of grant allocation reveals the existence of centre-stale relations in
the field of higher education .

Types of grants
It is always interesting to look into the types of grants received by higher education
institutions in the country. The State government grant to the universities can be
grouped into three different heads:

i) MaintenancelBlock Grants: These grants are basically for the day-to-day

functioning of the institutions. Salaries of the teaching and non-teaching
staff constitute the bulk:of the maintenance grant given to a university. These
grants are determined by the State governments for a specified period and
in general, are subject to increase on account of rise in costs. The quantum
of grants on this account is based on the net deficit of the university, on
approved items for the previous year on the one hand, and the increase on
account of rise in costs, on the other.

ii) Non-recurring Grants: These grants are normally used for buildings,
equipment etc. In general, land for a university is given by the State
government.

iii) pevelopment Grants: These are meant for the new schemes sponsored by
¥he federal/state governments and a university generally gets these grants
on a matching basis for various activities by the UGc.

The Central govenunent provides grants to universities and colleges for general
education, and are for the development purposes, which are channelised through
the UGc. Most of these grants are on a matching basis i.e. the UGC provides
only part of the total expenditure required for a scheme. The relative shares of
federal and state governments vary according to the schemes. The federal share
in general education varies between 05% to 100%. For example, for programmes
like development of a post-graduate department or a center of advanced studies,
the UGC assistance may be on a 100% basis, while, for schemes like the
construction of staff quarters and student hostels, the UGC shares come around
50% of the cost. The UGC also make provisions, from time to time, for faculty
development programmes like those which enable teachers to participate in
refresher courses, summer institutes, academic conferences, etc.

One major problem regarding the Central funds channeled through the UGC, is
that these grants are meant for developmental purposes initiated during a plan
period. The continuation of these schemes, after the plan, becomes the
responsibility of the State and many a time the State government finds it difficult
to continue funding the activities which were initiated with the UGC assistance.
13
Structure of Higher An analysis of expenditure of the universities, over the years, shows that the
Education
salaries for teaching and non-teaching staff accounts for nearly two-thirds, of the
total recurring expenditure. This share has increased over the years, which implies
that share of expenditure on equipment, libraries, sports and games etc., has
come down. This trend has serious implications for the quality of higher education
in India.

Check Your Progress 2

Note: Answer your questions in the space provided below.
3) Specify different sources of income of a university in India
•

4) Critically reflect on the scenario likely to emerge in the absence of

government funding to Universities.

4.7 ROLE AND FUNCTION OF THE UGC

As we have seen, the UGC plays an important role in the development of higher
education in the country. Hence, it is necessary to learn more about this body. In
this section, we will discuss in detail, the role and functions of this organization.

What is UGC?
The need for a central level agency to coordinate affairs in higher education was
found long age. The Calcutta University Commission (1917-19), suggested the
creation of a body which would disburse funds, collect and disseminate
information about universities and maintain liaison with foreign universities.
The Sargent Report also echoed these suggestions and recommended setting up
of a British-type University. Consequently, in 1945, a University Grants
Committee was constituted. It was essentially meant to deal with the then existing
central universities. After two years, the committee's scope was
expanded to include all the universities. The committee had no funds of its own
and hence the allocation of grants was not its primary responsibility. The
University Education Commission (1948-49), recommended that the UGC should
be empowered to allocate funds rather than remain merely a recommendatory
body.

14
The Union Ministry of Education suggested a Central Council of University Higher Education
Institutions: The Structural
Education with all the functions of the UGC, except the financial responsibilities. Basis at Macro Level
However, the state ministries and the Vice-Chancellors' Conference of 1953,
unanimously recommended the setting up of the University Grants Commission
(UGC). Consequently, the UGC started functioning from December 1953. The
UGC Act was passed by the Parliament in 1956. According to this Act, the major
responsibilities of the Commission are two-fold:

i) the promotion and coordination of university education; and

ii) the determination and maintenance of standards of teaching, examination
and research in universities throughout the country.

Specifically, the major objective of the Commission is to undertake in consultation

with the universities and the concerned statutory council, all such steps as it may
think appropriate for the "promotion and coordination of university education
and for the determination and maintenance of standards of teaching, examination
and research in university ... " ,

The Commission is assisted by a Secretariat which is a semi-profession body.

The Secretariat consists of one Secretary, Additional Secretaries, Joint Secretaries,
Deputy Secretaries. Under Secretaries, Education Officers and Officers dealing
with finance and accounts. The UGC has also established Zonal regional offices
at Hyderabad, Pune Ghaziabad and Calcutta to facilitate the allotment of funds
to colleges those are headed by an officer of the rank of Joint Secretary.

The UGC plans are basically an aggregation of plans prepared by the Universities.
Before the formulation of each five year plan, the UGC sends circulars to
universities and its constituent colleges requesting them to propose their.
development schemes for the next plan. The circular also indicates some priority
programmes which the Commission intends to pursue. Keeping the UGC schemes
and the requirements of the universities in view, the universities/colleges prepare
the plan and submit them to the UGc. The UGC examines these plans and,
taking into account the resource available, makes suggestions on the development
plans of the universities; .and the universities are, subsequently, requested to
revise their plans accordingly. An aggregation of such revised plans become the
five-year plan of the UGc. The UGC also sends visiting teams to the universities,
and at times to colleges, to assess their developmental requirements.

Functions of the Commission

The union government attempts to fulfill its constitutional obligation for higher
education mainly through the UGC. The UGC takes caMof the general higher
education in Arts, Science, Commerce and professional education provided in
the faculties of the universities. Its functions in general are confined to promotion,
coordination, determination and maintenance of the standards of higher education.
Its provides funds for improvement of physical facilities, recruitment of ,staff,
purchase of books and equipment, development of libraries and laboratories and
for the varied programmes designed to raise academic standards on all-India
basis.

More specifically, the functions of the Commission can be stated briefly as

follows:

• to asses the financial needs of the universities;

15
Structure of Higher • to allocate various forms of funds through grants;
Education
• to advise any authority on the establishment of a new university or the
expansion of existing one. However, it may noted in this context that there
are instances where the Commission is not consulted while establishing the
universities at the State level. A new Act has been framed in this regard. In
such a case the UGC is prevented from providing to the university assistance
for a specified period;
• to collect and disseminate information on all matters pertaining to university
education in India;
• to decide on standards and recommend measures necessary to improve
university education in India

The UGC has introduced various faculty improvement programmes which

provide opportunities to teachers to keep abreast with modem developments in
their fields undertake research and exchange ideas with experts in their subject
areas and other related fields. These programmes aim at improving the
professional competence of teachers and to make them better equipped so that
they can offer higher quality instructional programmes, and thus ensure high
standards. It organizes summer institutes, seminars, refresher courses, academic
staff orientation shemes, academic teachers. At times, it provides travel grants to
teachers to travel abroad for conferences or seminars. The UGC has also instituted
National Fellowships, scheme for National Lectures, Visiting Professors/Visiting
Fellow scheme and Associateships to provide opportunities for teachers engaged
in research to visit and work for short periods in various advanced centres or
institutions.

Quality assurance
The responsibility of quality assurance in higher education lies with the University
Grants Commission and Statutory Councils like the All India Council for
Technical Education (AICTE). The UGC established in 1994 the National
Assessment and Accreditation Council ((NAAC) that undertakes institutional
evaluation of universities and colleges. For quality assurance in technical and
management education the All India Council for Technical Education (AITE)
set up, also in 1994, a National Board of Accreditation (NBA) which undertakes
programme valuation. The Distance Education Council, Indira GandhiN ational
Open University (DEC-IGNOU) has the responsibility of monitoring quality in
distance education programme.

The Government oflndia has set up a number of Councils to monitor professional

activity in different professional areas. The Councils also regulate higher education
in their respective areas. These statutory Councils are of two types:

Those with both funding and regulatory powers relating to education e.g., All
India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Council of Architecture 9CA),
Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), Indian Nursing Council (INC), Bar Council of
India (BCI), Dental Council oflndia (DCI), Medical Council of India (MCI), the
National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), Central Council for
Homeopathy (CCH), Central Council oflndian Medicine (CCIM), Rehabilitation
Council of India (RCI) and veterinary Council of India (VCI).

16
 Higher Education
4.8 ADMINISTRATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION Institutions: The Structural
Basis at Macro Level
AT THE STATE LEVEL
Administrative structure at the State Level
There is no uniform pattern of administration of higher education at the State
level in India. The administrative structure also varies among States. Usually
there are three different structures dealing with educational administration at the
State level. They are:

i) The Secretariat;
ii) The Directorate;
iii) The Inspectorate

Among these, the former two structures are important so far as higher education
is concerned.

The Secretariat is headed by the Education Secretary. Some States have only one
Education Secretary who is responsible for all levels of education. Some States,
on the other hand, have two or more Secretaries looking after the different levels/
sectors of education. In States where there is only one Education Secretary, there
are other functionaries such as Special Secretary/Deputy Secretary, exclusively
dealing with higher education. .

At the union level, only general and technical education fall under the purview
of the Secretary for Secondary and Higher education, Professional education is
looked after by the Secretaries of the respective Ministries i.e., agricultural
education is under the purview of Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, medical
education under the responsibility of DepartmentiMinistry of Public Health, etc.

Check Your Progress 3

Note: Answer your questions in the space provided below.
5) As per the Act, what are the two major responsibilities that have been
vested with the UGC? Give your assessment of the performance of
these responsibilities by the UGc.

A few States (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal)
have established Higher Education Commissions of which the Chairman is the
Education Minister. An eminent educationist serves as the Vice-Chairman. The
responsibilities of the Commission are:

i) improving the organization and promoting higher education in the State;

and
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Structure of Higher ii) determining and maintaining the standards of teaching, examination and
Education
research in the universities of the state.

The functions of the Commission are similar to that of the UGC at the national
level.

Generally, all the states have directorates of higher education. There are, normally,
two directorates dealing with higher education such as directorates of collegiate
education and directorates of technical education. Each of these directorates is
headed by a director, who takes care of the administration at the collegiate and
technical education level.

Administrative structure at the university level

Universities in India are autonomous institutions. They have their own
administrative structures and management styles. The President of India is the
Visitor of all Central Universities, except the Vishwa Bharati, where the Prime
Minister is the Visitor. In case of State universities, the Governor of the respective
State is the Chancellor. Both the Visitor and the Chancellor, normally do not
have any administrative role in the day-to-day functioning of the University.

The Vice-Chancellor is the most important functionary who is the chief executive
and academic authority of a university. He/she exercises general control one,
and supervision of, the overall functioning of the university. He/she has a
secretariat-the Registrar of the university supervising its work. In certain
universities where academic programmes are. diverse and where the student
strength is large, one may find posts of Pro-Vice Chancellors. There are also
DeanslDirectors of Studies/Schools and Heads of Departments/Centres. Normally,
in most of the universities the Deanship and Headship are available on a rotation
basis. There are certain statutory bodies available in the university structure, for
formulating policies and making roads to implement policies. We will discuss
this in detail in the later unit of this block.

4.9 SUMMARY
In recent years, a lot of pressure has been exerted on the higher education system
in India at two levels. First, to accommodate the increasing numbers of student
population and, secondly, to maintain the quality of education imparted through
the system. These two aspects are always linked with the effective and efficient
management system. In this unit, we began our discussion with the types of
higher education institutions available in the country. As of September 2003,
there were 322 universities including 64 deemed-to-be universities, l3 institutions
of national importance and over 12,000 colleges (excluding junior/intermediate
colleges), both government and private managed, which are responsible for
imparting higher education in the country. We have discussed the broad categories
of tertiary level institutions available in the country like the central university,
the state universities and the institutions of national importance. We have also
identified certain other institutions which are exclusively meant for imparting
higher education in the country. There are certain ministries and agencies which
are concerned with higher education. cThese include ministries like-human
resource development, agriculture, health, law, etc., and agencies su-h as- UGC,
CSIR, ICSSR, ICHR, ICAR and ICMR.
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The above mentioned organizational structure is closely associated with the Higher Education
Institutions: The Structural
financing pattern available in higher education. The sources of income for higher Basis at Macro Level
education are generally based on the grants by the federal and state governments,
student fees, endowments, donations, etc. Over the years, higher education, other
than the government support for higher education has been declined. The Union
and state governments are the major contributors to the funding of higher
education. These funds are channelized to the institution of higher learning in
the form of grants like maintenance/block grants, non-recurring grants,
developmental grants etc. In this context, the UGC has an important role to play.
Hence, we have discussed in detail, its organizational structure, functions and its
responsibilities for the qualitative improvement of the higher education system
in the country. Lastly, in this unit, we highlighted certain aspects of the
administrative structure of the higher education system at the state and university
levels. In unit 3 and 4 of this block, we will discuss in detail, the university
structure and its importance in the higher education system in the country.

4.10 SUGGESTED READINGS

1) Beteille, Andre (2010) Universities at the Crossroads; Delhi: Oxford
University Press.
2) Beteille, Andre (2000) Antinomies of Society; Delhi: Oxford University Press.
3) Powar, K.B.(eds.)(1998), State Funding of Higher Education; New Delhi:
Association of India Universities.
4) Power, K.B.(2002), Indian Higher Education: A Conglomerate of Concepts,
Facts and Practices; Delhi: Concept Publishing Co.
5) Singh, Amrik and GD. Sharma (eds.) (1989) Higher Educationin India:
The Institutional Context; Delhi: Konark Publishers Pvt. Ltd. '
,\.\

6) Singh, Amrik (1988) "Foundation and Role of UGC" in Amrik Singh and
GD. Sharma (Eds )., Higher Education in India: The Social Context; Delhi:
Konark Publishers Pvt. Ltd., pp.234-51.
7) World Bank (1994), Higher Education: The Lessons of Experience;
Washington DC: The World Bank.

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