A Parliamentary panel has said 'alarming' gaps between different social groups with regard to access to higher education needed to be corrected.
NEW DELHI: With government grappling with the issue of OBC quota in elite educational institutions, a Parliamentary panel has said 'alarming' existing gaps between different social groups with regard to access to higher education needed to be corrected on a priority basis.
A Parliamentary Standing Committee on HRD said it was of the considered opinion that equity and access to higher education was of paramount importance and should be a priority while framing the policies for higher education in the 11th Five Year Plan.
"Existing gaps in this respect between different social groups are alarming and needs to be corrected on priority basis", it said in its recent report.
While the overall Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education was roughly ten per cent of the entitled age group, the situation in respect of the backward classes was 'even more miserable', the report said.
The Gross Enrolment Ratio in respect of the Scheduled Castes was 6.7 per cent and for the Scheduled Tribes, it was only 4.9 per cent, it pointed out.
The Gender Parity Index figures were also not very encouraging with 0.64 and 0.55 in respect of SC and ST respectively, the report said adding the overall Gender Parity Index also was a dismal 0.71.
The Department must take expeditious action to ensure that appropriate plans were formulated and put to work well in time to be able to achieve the target of 15 per cent enrolment by the end of the 11th Five Year Plan.
The National Knowledge Commission headed by Sam Pitroda had said that the country needed 1,500 new Universities to be able to achieve the 15 per cent enrolment target.
The Committee was informed that the findings of the Knowledge Commission were worthy of discussion and there should be wider national debate and then a sort of wider consensus should be evolved as to what action had to be taken, the report said.
To another concern of the Committee about regulating entry of foreign universities in the country, the Department said that a Foreign Education Providers Bill was on the anvil.
Through this Bill, the Department proposed to regulate investment into the country and ensure that quality and standards of education were maintained and profiteering was restricted.
The Bill would also ensure that there was no exploitation of students by foreign universities and there was no sub- standard degree given by the universities, the report said.
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