New Education Policy 2020: Transparency in charging of fees, rejig in regulatory oversight

The New Education Policy (NEP), 2020 approved by the Modi Cabinet on Wednesday, lays down that all higher education institutions will have to transparently disclose fees charged by them and any profits have to be reinvested in the education sector.

All education institutions will be held to similar standards of audit and disclosure as a ‘not for profit’ entity. Surpluses, if any, will be reinvested in the educational sector, according to the NEP 2020.

There will be transparent public disclosure of all these financial matters with recourse to grievance-handling mechanisms to the general public. The accreditation system developed by a National Accreditation Council will provide a complimentary check on this system, and a National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC) will consider this as one of the key dimensions of its regulatory objective.

All fees and charges set by private higher education institutions (HEIs) will be transparently and fully disclosed, and there shall be no arbitrary increases in these fees during the period of enrolment of any student. This fee determining mechanism will ensure reasonable recovery of cost while ensuring that HEIs discharge their social obligations, the NEP 2020 says.

Regulation

The NEP has proposed to set up Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) as a single overarching umbrella body for the entire higher education, excluding medical and legal education. HECI will have four independent verticals — National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC) for regulation, General Education Council (GEC ) for standard-setting, Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC) for funding, and National Accreditation Council (NAC) for accreditation.

HECI will function through faceless intervention through technology and will have powers to penalize HEIs not conforming to norms and standards. Public and private higher education institutions will be governed by the same set of norms for regulation, accreditation, and academic standards.

READ | New Education Policy, 2020: Here Are The Key Highlights Of NEP Approved By Modi Cabinet

READ | New Education Policy: Breather For Students As Board Exams Will Now Ditch Rote Learning

Rationalised Institutional Architecture

HEIs will be transformed into large, well resourced, vibrant multi-disciplinary institutions providing high-quality teaching, research, and community engagement. The definition of the university will allow a spectrum of institutions that range from research-intensive Universities to Teaching-intensive Universities and Autonomous degree-granting Colleges. 

Through a suitable system of graded accreditation and graded autonomy, and in a phased manner over a period of 15 years, all HEIs in India will aim to become independent self-governing institutions pursuing innovation and excellence.

Financial support for students

Efforts will be made to incentivize the merit of students belonging to SC, ST, OBC, and other SEDGs. The National Scholarship Portal will be expanded to support, foster, and track the progress of students receiving scholarships. Private HEIs will be encouraged to offer larger numbers of free ships and scholarships to their students.

New Education Policy 2020 approved

The Modi Cabinet on Wednesday approved the much-awaited NEP, 2020, which aims to revamp all aspects of India's education system and bring it closer to the best global standards. A committee led by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief Dr. K Kasturirangan formed the Draft National Education Policy 2019 on the foundational pillars of 'Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability, and Accountability.' The new NEP replaces the one formulated in 1986.

One of the government's major decision is to rename the Human Resource Development Ministry as the Ministry of Education (MoE).

READ | National Education Policy 2020: M Phil Discontinued, Fee Capped For Higher Education

READ | HRD Ministry Renamed Ministry Of Education As Cabinet Approves National Education Policy