Updated on: Wednesday, December 12, 2012
In an effort to raise the standard of higher education in the state, Governor B L Joshi who is also chancellor of all state universities has called a meeting of vice-chancellors of all universities including higher education, technical, medical, law and agriculture universities, here at King George's Medical University at 10.30am on Wednesday. Senior officials from departments concerned too have been asked to participate in the meeting. Issues ranging from academics to administration to finance are expected to be discussed at length in the meeting. Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav who is also the Higher Education minister is expected to attend the meeting.
The key thrust areas for academic discussion would include up-gradation of undergraduate courses by implementation of common minimum syllabus (CMS) in all state universities. Of the existing 150 subjects, CMS has been implemented in 67 courses in the year 2011-12. The state government targets 50 courses to undergo CMS this year while the remaining will be taken care of in academic session 2013-14.
Evaluation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has been put on top priority. The state government figures reveal that of 13 state universities and 3,553 colleges, one state university, 21 government colleges, 84 aided colleges, and 103 self-finance colleges carried out NAAC in 2011-12. The government targets 450 higher educational institutions for the year 2012-13. In the present year, two state universities, 17 government colleges, 68 aided colleges and 203 self-finance colleges have already undergone NAAC assessment.
A central point of discussion will be the academic calendar, under which, the admission process in all state universities should be finished by July 31, and classes would begin from August 1. Focus on regular classes and completion of course curriculum should be done till February 28 while annual examinations are to begin from first week of March. All state universities should ensure that examinations finish by May end and results are declared latest by June 30. All results should be uploaded on the universities website.
Decision over research quality, digitalization of the libraries and conducting PhD entrance test is also another area that will find space on Wednesday. Placement of students of professional courses is also one of the issues plaguing most universities as students have been accusing them of charging high fees but not taking care of their placements. The governor may stress on a database of passed students. Rs 3 crore has been allocated by state government in 2012-13 for procurement of adequate hardware. In the first phase, Lucknow University, Meerut University, Sanskrit Sampooranand University, Varanasi, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, Jaunpur University is included.
Chancellor will also take note of virtual classrooms in state universities. Although Lucknow University has a virtual classroom, it has remained defunct since inaugurated last year. It cost state government Rs 30 lakh. While the government has allocated Rs 200 lakh for development of model classes in the universities in 2011-12, this year, another Rs 100 lakh has been allocated for online education. No notable development in these areas have come to the fore in any state university.
Discussions on strengthening of libraries and establishment of e-library in universities and government colleges will also take place during the meeting.
Emphasis on proper building, library, hostels, clean drinking water and basic facilities will also form part of the meeting. Universities have been advised to make optimum use of financial schemes of UGC. Strict enforcement of norms to restrict ragging especially in technical institutes and constitution of grievance cell for students and teachers in all state universities is expected to be covered in the meeting.
The government will consider to increase the annual grant given to each university to help them meet their finances and will pay emphasis on computerised database for students and teachers. Discussion on grants for facilities to physically challenged students studying in the universities will also take place.