HYDERABAD: The idea of converting the present university-affiliated colleges into autonomous colleges by the year 2032 as mentioned in the Central government’s draft National Education Policy-2019, (NEP) has not gone down well with TSCHE and other State government agencies dealing with higher education in Telangana.
According to sources, at the round table conference conducted by TSCHE on NEP on Monday, the widely held opinion was that such a change in policy would lead to a situation wherein degrees issued by such colleges would be of no value globally.
NEP also saw voices opinionated against the idea of giving private agencies the authority to give accreditation to higher education institutions in the country, which might result in unscrupulous private institutions getting accreditation.
The draft NEP-2019 suggests that the present National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) can be developed into a full-fledged ecosystem of 100-150 institutions of which some can be private agencies.
While there was agreement regarding increasing the number of accreditation agencies from the present one, they were against the inclusion of private agencies for accreditation and it was also opined that there should be an accrediting agency functioning at State level as well.
TSCHE and other officials present at the meeting also expressed a difference of opinion regarding the transformation of the present University Grants Commission into Higher Education Grants Council, the four-year policy on PhD and the extent of freedom being granted to foreign universities as per the draft NEP-2019.
However, there was concurrence with the NEP-2019 that higher educational institutions can evolve into three kinds - Teaching Universities, Research Universities and Colleges.
The TSCHE has decided to get opinions of universities and professors working on the draft NEP-2019 and a meeting in this regard would be held in all State universities.