University Grants Commission (UGC) is a statutory body set up by the Department of Higher Education,

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

in accordance to the UGC Act 1956 and is charged with coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...

in India. It provides recognition to universities in India, and disbursements of funds to such recognized

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

and

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

s. The headquarters are in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

, and it has six regional centres in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

and

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

. A proposal to replace it with another new regulatory body called HECI is under consideration by the

. The UGC provides doctoral scholarships to all those who clear JRF in the

National Eligibility Test UGC NET or NTA-UGC-NET, is the examination for determining the eligibility for the post of assistant professor and/or Junior Research Fellowship award in Indian universities and colleges. The examination is conducted by National Testing Agenc ...

. On an average, each year is spent on doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships by the commission.

History

The UGC was first formed in 1945 to oversee the work of the three Central Universities of

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district, and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the cap ...

, Banaras and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

. Its responsibility was extended in 1947 to cover all Indian universities. In August 1949 a recommendation was made to reconstitute the UGC along similar lines to the University Grants Committee of the United Kingdom. This recommendation was made by the University Education Commission of 1948–1949 which was set up under the chairmanship of S. Radhakrishnan "to report on Indian university education and suggest improvements and extensions". In 1952 the government decided that all grants to universities and higher learning institutions should be handled by the UGC. Subsequently, an inauguration was held on 28 December 1953 by Maulana

Abul Kalam Azad Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed bin Khairuddin Al-Hussaini Azad (; 11 November 1888 – 22 February 1958) was an Indian independence activist, Islamic theologian, writer and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. Following In ...

, the Minister of Education, Natural Resources and Scientific Research. The University Grants Commission (UGC) came into existence on 28th December, 1953 and became a statutory Organization of the Government of India by an Act of Parliament in 1956, for the coordination,determination and maintenance of standards of teaching, examination and research in university education. In November 1956 the UGC became a statutory body upon the passing of the "University Grants Commission Act, 1956" by the

Indian Parliament The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

. In 1994 and 1995 the UGC decentralised its operations by setting up six regional centres at

and

. The head office of the UGC is located at

Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg is a road in Delhi, India. It is named after Bahadur Shah Zafar who was the last Mughal emperor. This road is sometimes also referred to as the (Mountain grass) Fleet Street of India,

in New Delhi, with two additional bureaus operating from 35, Feroze Shah Road and the South Campus of

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

as well. In December 2015 the Indian government set a National Institutional of Ranking Framework under UGC which will rank all educational institutes by April 2016. In February 2022 M Jagadesh Kumar was appointed as the chairman of the UGC,a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT Delhi and former VC of JNU.

Types of universities

The types of universities regulated by the UGC include: * Central universities, or Union universities, are established by an act of parliament and are under the purview of the Department of Higher Education in the

. , The list of central universities published by the UGC includes 55 central universities. *

State universities A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, territory or federal district. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country. State univers ...

are run by the state government of each of the states and territories of India and are usually established by a local legislative assembly act. , the UGC lists 456 state universities. The oldest establishment date listed by the UGC is 1857, shared by the

University of Mumbai The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed h ...

, the

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

and the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, ...

. Most State Universities are affiliating universities in that they administer many

affiliated college An affiliated school (also affiliated college, federated school, federated college or federated university) is an educational institution that operates independently, but also has a formal collaborative agreement with another, usually larger institu ...

s (many located in very small towns) that typically offer a range of undergraduate courses, but may also offer post-graduate courses. More established colleges may even offer PhD programs in some departments with the approval of the affiliating university. * Deemed university, or "Deemed to be University", is a status of autonomy granted by the Department of Higher Education on the advice of the UGC, under Section 3 of the UGC Act. , the UGC lists 50 Institutions as Deemed to be Universities included under Section 12(B) of the UGC Act, 1956. According to this list, the first institute to be granted deemed university status was

Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The institute was ...

, which was granted this status on 12 May 1958. In many cases, the same listing by the UGC covers several institutes. For example, the listing for

Homi Bhabha National Institute The Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI) is an Indian deemed university established by the Department of Atomic Energy, which unifies academic programmes of several of its constituent institutions. Deemed universities in India have been divi ...

covers the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research and other institutes. *

Private universities Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grants. Depe ...

are approved by the UGC. They can grant degrees but they are not allowed to have off-campus affiliated colleges. , the UGC list of private universities lists 421 universities. , The University Grants Commission (UGC) has also released the list of 21 fake universities operating in India. UGC has said that these 21 self-styled, unrecognized institutions functioning in contravention of the UGC Act have been declared as fake and are not entitled to confer any degrees.

Professional councils

UGC, along with CSIR currently conducts

NET Net or net may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Net (mathematics), a filter-like topological generalization of a sequence * Net, a linear system of divisors of dimension 2 * Net (polyhedron), an arrangement of polygons that can be folded up ...

for appointments of teachers in colleges and universities. It has made NET qualification mandatory for teaching at graduation level and at post-graduation level since July 2009. However, those with PhD are given five percent relaxation.

Accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

for

higher learning ''Higher Learning'' is a 1995 American drama film written and directed by John Singleton and starring an ensemble cast. The film follows the changing lives of three incoming freshmen at the fictional Columbus University: Malik Williams ( Omar Epp ...

over universities under the aegis of University Grants Commission is overseen by following fifteen autonomous statutory institutions: *

All India Council for Technical Education The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is a statutory body, and a national-level council for technical education, under the Department of Higher Education. Established in November 1945 first as an advisory body and later on in ...

(AICTE) *

Indian Council of Agricultural Research The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous body responsible for co-ordinating agricultural education and research in India. It reports to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture. Th ...

(ICAR) *

Bar Council of India The Bar Council of India is a statutory body established under the section 4 of Advocates Act 1961 that regulates the legal practice and legal education in India. Its members are elected from amongst the lawyers in India and as such represents ...

(BCI) *

National Council for Teacher Education National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) is a statutory body of Indian government set-up under the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 (#73, 1993) in 1995 is to formally oversee standards, procedures and processes in the Ind ...

(NCTE) *

Rehabilitation Council of India The Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) is the apex government body, set up under an Act of Parliament, to regulate training programmes and courses targeted at disabled, disadvantaged, and special education requirement communities. It is the onl ...

(RCI) *

National Medical Commission National Medical Commission (NMC) is an Indian regulatory body of 33 members which regulates medical education and medical professionals. It replaced the Medical Council of India on 25 September 2020. The Commission grants recognition of medi ...

(NMC) *

Pharmacy Council of India The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) is the statutory body under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. It is constituted under the Pharmacy Act, 1948. The Council was first constituted on 4 March 1948. Dr. Montukumar Patel ...

(PCI) *

Indian Nursing Council Indian Nursing Council is a national regulatory body for nurses and nurse education in India. It is an autonomous body under the Government of India, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, constituted by the Central Government under section 3(1) ...

(INC) *

Dental Council of India The Dental Council of India was incorporated under The Dentists Act, 1948 to regulate dental education and the profession throughout India. It is financed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and through the local state dental councils. ...

(DCI) *

National Commission for Homoeopathy The National Commission for Homoeopathy (formerly known as Central Council of Homoeopathy) is a statutory body under the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India. Central Council of Homoeopathy was set up by the Government of India The Gove ...

(NCH) * National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) * National Council for Rural Institutes (NCRI) *

Council of Architecture The Council of Architecture is a statutory body constituted by the Government of India under the provisions of the Architects Act, 1972, enacted by the Parliament of India, which came into force on 1 September 1972. The Act provides for regis ...

* Various State Councils of Higher Education (SCHE)

Future

In 2009, the Union Minister of Human Resource Development,

Kapil Sibal Kapil Sibal (born 8 August 1948) is an Indian lawyer and politician. Sibal has represented several high-profile cases in the Supreme Court of India and is widely regarded as one of the famous lawyers of India. He is a Member of Parliament, in Ra ...

made known the government of India's plans to consider the closing down of the UGC and the related body

(AICTE), in favour of a higher regulatory body with more sweeping powers. This goal, proposed by the Higher Education and Research (HE&R) Bill, 2011, intends to replace the UGC with a National Commission for Higher Education & Research (NCHER) "for determination, coordination, maintenance and continued enhancement of standards of higher education and research". The bill proposes absorbing the UGC and other academic agencies into this new organisation. Those agencies involved in medicine and law would be exempt from this merger "to set minimum standards for medical and legal education leading to professional practice". The bill has received opposition from the local governments of the Indian states of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

and

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

, but has received general support. On 27 June 2018, the

Ministry of Human Resource Development The Ministry of Education ( MoE; formerly the Ministry of Human Resource Development from 1985 to 2020) is a ministry of the Government of India, responsible for the implementation of the National Policy on Education. The Ministry is further d ...

announced its plans to repeal the UGC Act, 1956. A

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

was expected to be introduced in the 2018

monsoon session The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

of the Parliament, which if passed would have led to the dissolution of the UGC. The bill also stipulated formation of a new body, the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI). This form of the bill was ultimately dropped in the face of strong political opposition, and was reworked in 2019 in order to gain political consensus. As of mid-2020 the UGC continues to remain in existence. Ministry of Human Resource Development, MHRD, was renamed as 'Ministry of Education'. On 13 April 2022 The University Grants Commission of India (UGC India) announced to allow the students to complete two academic programmes simultaneously keeping in view the proposals outlined in the National Education Policy - NEP 2020 which emphasizes the need to enable multiple pathways to learning involving both formal and non-formal education modes. In a joint notification with All India Council for Technical Education ( AICTE), University Grants Commission advised Indian nationals & overseas citizens of India against pursuing higher education in Pakistan stating that any such student with a degree from an educational institution in Pakistan “shall not be eligible for seeking employment or higher studies in India”.The notification also stated that this will not be applicable to migrants who have been granted Indian citizenship and have obtained security clearance from MHA.

References

External links