New standards in Higher Education will be set up by fourteen proposed Innovation Universities, trying to attain world-class standards. As per the Human Resource Department (HRD) Ministry's concept note, admissions to undergraduate classes in these universities will be established through public-private partnership (PPP). The admission will be done through one of the four methods adopted by institutions worldwide. The ministry has chosen a two-stage testing process. During the first stage there will be a screening process based on aptitude test in broad areas of higher learning such as physical sciences, social sciences, humanities, languages, life sciences, etc. This test will determine the cognitive and analytic abilities of the candidates. Candidates will be tested through essay type questions that measures knowledge in the second stage. These tests will be held in all the state capitals and major cities of the world.
At post-graduate (PG) level, aptitude test would be conducted. For doctorate programmes, references from eminent academicians will supplement the results obtained at PG level. As for reservation, socio-economic background of candidates will be considered. This will replace the current system of caste reservation and give rise to constitutional issues. Therefore, reservation should be done on the basis of acceptability. Socio-economic factors will be considered including educational background and income of parents as well as nature of school (rural or urban) from which the candidate passed. Top 20pc of the students at undergraduate and postgraduate level will be provided scholarships by the university. Educational loans will also be made available to the needy. Candidates for the post of Vice-Chancellor (VC) will be short-listed by the search committees. The list of short-listed candidates will then be submitted to the proposed National Commission of Higher Education and Research (NCHER).
