The proposed single higher education regulator, the Higher Education Commission of India, is expected to include Institutes of National Importance (INIs), such as IITs, IIMs, NITs, and IISERs, according to the reports.
At the moment, neither the University Grants Commission nor the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have any authority over central universities (CUs) or INIs (Institutes of National Importance), which are administered by their respective Acts of Parliament. The IITs, IIMs, and NITs deal with the ministry directly on financial problems, whilst the central institutions continue to depend on the UGC for the release of their budgetary funding.
Sources claim that the Education Ministry contemplated include INIs and BUs inside the proposed HECI’s purview while considering the various laws and capabilities of the proposed institution. If the government goes through with the plan, it will undoubtedly give IIMs heartburn because they have been fiercely protective of their autonomy, especially since the IIM Act was passed.
The potential of placing all technical education institutes under the authority of HECI was raised at a presentation by the then-AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe in December 2021, according to an IIM director who spoke on the condition of anonymity. However, a few IIM directors together submitted a letter to the ministry rejecting the concept in the first few months of 2022.
There are currently 160 INIs, including AIIMS, IITs, NITs, and IIMs. These institutions are able to confer degrees, hold their own examinations, and receive government money. They are also administered by their own senates or boards of governors, but the government does participate to some extent.
