The setting up of the National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) could spell death knell for deemed universities which would now be required to pass through tough entry barriers to become full-fledged universities.
HRD minister Kapil Sibal had earlier said that the government wants to put an end to the practice of conferring deemed university status to institutions.
The step assumes significance in view of findings of several committees that many of such institutes do not deserve the status.
The committee on 'Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education' has said that majority of these institutes delude students and the status should be withdrawn if they fail to fulfil the accreditation norms in three years. It said such institutions are not established with educational purpose.
The ministry has prepared a draft NCHER bill and has circulated it among the taskforce which has been constituted to suggest how the proposed overarching body could be started and how to ensure a smooth transition from the present framework to the proposed one, official sources said.
There are 130 deemed universities of which about 60 came up in the last five years. The deemed university status is awarded under Section-3 of the UGC Act.
The NCHER will subsume the UGC and other regulatory bodies in higher education and set tougher entry barriers for conferring university status to institutes.
Comments