Deemed varsity status for 13 RECs soon

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JUNE 29. Thirteen of the 17 Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs) have been cleared by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for grant of Deemed to be University status as per the recommendations of a high powered review committee, which had suggested that the RECs be made autonomous.

Though the notification is yet to come, the RECs that are set to become deemed universities are the ones in Tiruchi, Surathkal, Kozhikode, Kurukshetra, Jalandhar, Rourkela, Durgapur, Warangal, Hamirpur, Jaipur, Nagpur, besides Maulana Azad College of Technology in Bhopal, and Regional Institute of Technology in Jamshedpur.

Earlier this year, the commission had constituted a panel of experts to form zone-wise committees to consider the proposals of 13 RECs for granting them Deemed to be University status under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956. The commission decided to give the 13 RECs Deemed University status as per the reports of these zonal committees which visited the institutions in April and May.

Once they are notified as deemed universities, the RECs would be able to award their own degrees. Needless to say, the administrative structure of the RECs - a cooperative effort of the Central Government and the State Government concerned - will have to undergo a change.

According to the Education Secretary, Mr. M.K. Kaw, the exercise to restructure the RECs was taken up on the recommendations of the review committee. The committee had suggested academic autonomy besides changes in the governance and funding pattern.

As of now, the recurring expenditure on undergraduate courses offered at RECs is shared by the Central Government and the State Government. As for the non-recurring expenditure and expenditure recurred on post-graduate courses, the bill is picked up entirely by the Central Government.

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Section  : National
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