UGC seeks higher allocation for education in budget

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has been undertaking efforts to make higher education relevant to the societal and national needs, its chairman D P Singh said on Wednesday. The UGC, whose mandate includes promoting and coordinating university education, is taking steps to improve the quality in higher education institutions (HEIs), he said.

Singh was talking to reporters after addressing the 68th annual convocation of the MS University in Vadodara. He said the UGC has been undertaking efforts to make higher education relevant to the societal and national needs. Singh said the UGC has requested the Centre to allocate more funds for education in the upcoming Union budget for 2020-21.

"Indian higher education system has grown manifold since independence. It has now 993 universities, 3.7 crore students and 14 lakh teachers," the UGC chairman said. "There have been reports about the unemployability of graduates coming out of our higher educational institutions. Some of the lacunae pointed out by industry experts are lack of soft skills. We, at the UGC, are conscious of these things," Singh said.