Updated on: Monday, March 28, 2011
Going ahead with its proposal of conducting a higher education survey in the country, the Union Human Resource Development Ministry has set up a task force that will oversee the survey. The survey will include medical institutions also.
The task force is headed by the Additional Secretary (Higher Education) in the Ministry with representatives from the University Grants Commission, the All-India Council for Technical Education, the Medical Council of India, the Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, the Central Statistics Office, universities, and the State Higher Education departments as its members.
Sam Pitroda's objection
The proposal has been criticised by Sam Pitroda, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Public Information, Infrastructure, and Innovations.
The survey is expected to give an accurate information on universities/university-level institutions, details of institutions attached, affiliated or recognised by universities and other statutory bodies. It will also provide details of faculty/departments/courses offered and information regarding teaching and non-teaching staff, student enrolment and examination results of the terminal year of each course.
Pilot Testing
The Pilot Testing of Data Capture Formats will be done between March 29 and April 16. Three Data Capture Formats have been designed and the main survey would be done during summer vacation in universities/ colleges when investigators/enumerators will visit institutions to collect information in the prescribed pro forma.
The institutions that have been identified for pilot survey are the University of Delhi and some of its colleges, the Benaras Hindu University and some of its affiliated colleges, the Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, the Panjab University, some universities and colleges in Andhra Pradesh, the Indira Gandhi National Open University, the Indian Institute of Technology (Delhi), the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan and deemed universities.
Centres for higher learning
The institutions of higher learning include universities (Central, State, Private, Deemed) including Open universities, institutions of National Importance/ Institutions established under the State Legislature Act, colleges affiliated to universities, stand-alone institutions (not affiliated), polytechnics, and research institutions.