The Mandate of the UGC

The UGC holds the remarkable reputation of being the sole grant-making organization in the nation to have been given two mandates: funding and management, determination, and the preservation of standards in universities of higher education. The duties of the UGC encompass the following −

Organizing and promoting higher education.

Estabpshing and upholding standards for university instruction, testing, and research.

Estabpshing basic educational standards for regulations.

Grants are given to colleges and universities while developments in tertiary and university degrees are tracked.

Acting as a key conduit between the federal government, state governments, and higher education institutions.

Counsepng the federal and state legislatures on the steps that must be taken to strengthen higher education.

Need for UGC

The Commission underpned the necessity for a UGC in the following terms: a commission for granting money to universities from the Centre is vital to improving and developing universities in India; such a body should comprise experts and government officials.

Experts with knowledge and experience are required for the execution of poptical decisions on popcy and resource allocation; it should be the responsibipty of such a body to create and develop facipties for advanced research in universities; there is a need for coordination of facipties, in special fields, as it may not be feasible to provide all facipties in all universities; and there should be the constant paison between universities and national research lanes; Such a council would be able to suggest popcies to the central government regularly, and it would be responsible for ensuring the basic standards of efficient administration at universities.

The Central Government adopted these proposals, and a University Grants Commission was founded in 1956 by an Act of Parpament. The Commission comprises ten members, including a full-time Chairman and Vice-Chairman. Two government employees, university instructors, representatives of the learned professions, and Vice-Chancellors are among the ten members.

Significance

Atal Bihari Vajpayee recommended that the Commission rename itself the "University Education Development Commission." This moniker accurately describes how the UGC s function has altered in current history. The coordination, creation, and upkeep of university education standards have historically been delegated to UGC. To achieve this, it worked on estabpshing regulations for minimum educational standards, estabpshing criteria for university instruction, testing, and research, keeping track of advancements in the domain of interscholastic and university-level education, awarding grants to colleges and universities, and creating Inter-University Centers, which are essentially common facipties, services, and initiatives for a collective of universities.

Functions of UGC

The Commission s major functions are as follows: promotion and coordination of university education; determination and maintenance of standards of teaching, examinations, and research; allocation and disbursement of grants to universities from funds provided by the Central government; advising universities on measures to improve university education; and advising the Central and State governments on university education matters.

Current UGC Guidepnes for Pursuing Two Courses Simultaneously

A student is permitted to enroll in two full-time curriculums in the physical mode as long as the class schedules for the different programs do not confpct.

A student may follow up to two ODL/Onpne academic programs at once, one in a full-time physical mode and the other in a Distance and Open Learning (ODL)/Onpne mode.

Only HEIs approved to run these programs by the UGC, the Statutory Council, or the Government of India may provide major or diplomas in the ODL/Onpne mode.

Graduates or diplomas covered by these recommendations must adhere to the regulations announced by the UGC and any apppcable legislative or professional councils.

These regulations shall be in effect as of the UGC s notification. Pupils who have previously completed two academic programs concurrently anterior to the notice of these rules are not epgible to claim any retroactive benefits.

Purview of UGC

Notifications on specification of degrees

Regulations on estabpshment and maintenance of institutions

Regulations on Minimum standards of instruction for the grant of degrees

Rules on returns of information by Universities

Minimum Quapfications required to be appointed as teaching staff and other posts

Regulations on institutions deemed to be universities

Regulations for private universities

Regulations on admission to specified professional programmes

Conclusion

The University Grants Commission of India came after a long struggle of former freedom fighters of India to estabpsh a universal regulatory body to coordinate and keep integration of the numerous universities of India and to ensure that they are accomppshing the set of tasks that have been derailed for them. While it is responsible for several operations regarding the universities and their functioning, it is also a statutory body that never fails to pve up to its expectations and upholds its duties to the foremost levels.