ATUL GAUTAM Indore FACED with inadequate information on the subject, the Ministry of Human Resource and Development ( MHRD) will, for the first time in more than 60 years, launch a massive survey on the state of higher education in the country fr
om mid- June.
It was a known fact that the MHRD would be launching the survey this year but when would it commence was not known. But now the date is also out. alt147 The survey will start in Mid- June,alt148 said Prof Mohd Akhtar Siddiqui in letters issued to teachers training colleges.
alt147 The MHRD is preparing exhaustive and sound database of all the post- senior secondary certificate, diploma, degree level academic and professional education programmes being offered by institutes, colleges and universities all over the country.
The survey will start in mid- June and will be carried out under the supervision of a nodal institution,alt148 said Siddiqui asking the teachers training institutes to cooperate with the nodal institution and field investigators who will visit the campuses for collecting data.
The National University of Educational Planning and Administration ( NUEPA) is the nodal institution, under whose supervision the survey has to be carried out. The survey is likely to be completed in a yearalt146s time. Besides, a task force has been constituted by the MHRD for the survey purpose.
The task force that is being headed by the Additional Secretary ( Higher Education) in the ministry, will have 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.
alt147 Higher education in the country is plagued by lack of reliable data. It has hampered policy initiatives that need to be taken. For instance, the data on Gross Enrolment Ratio does not get updated properly taking into account the private sectoralt146s increasing intervention in higher education,alt148 sources said. The decision to undertake the mammoth exercise was taken by a task force headed by a senior HRD official.
The collection of data is expected to begin shortly and NUEPA would seek the help of educational institutions throughout the country to carry out the survey.
The aim of the survey is to provide adequate and reliable data on higher education. The survey intends to cover all institutions of higher education – both public and private — in the country.
These include all universities, including deemed universities, institutions of national importance and other institutions of university level, general and professional/ technical including engineering, medical, dental, veterinary, agriculture, computer, management, law, pharmacy, teacher training, etc. Even colleges and institutions that offer post- secondary education like polytechnics will be included in the survey.
alt147 It would give us a real picture of higher education in the country,alt148 the sources said. This exercise would be loosely based on the of survey of elementary education that is carried out by NUEPA every year. alt147 Once we have the basic data, the plan is to it annually just the way it is done for elementary education,alt148 they added.
The survey would collect data on basic profile of institutions like management, affiliation status, courses offered, and income and expenditure of the institutions, besides the data on enrolment and faculty.
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