The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) through its higher education regulator University Grants Commission (UGC) is going to tighten the norms for higher education institutes for ensuring quality education is imparted to students.

MHRD has initiated a massive exercise to scrutinise hundreds of legislations so that the mushrooming of private universities across the country does not lead to a decline in the standard of education, according to a senior official familiar with the developments.

The exercise is expected to begin mid-November and being led by the UGC, which has already collected at least 300 state acts. A team of legal consultants working with Niti Aayog will study these acts to give a holistic picture, the official added.

UGC is already working on revising parameters for the setting up of universities. “There have been concerns about the standard of education in the hundreds of private universities spread across the country, and also about to maintaining quality. There have been reports of varsities with insufficient infrastructure, including some functioning from just a few rooms,” said the ministry official on condition of anonymity.

The hundreds of acts under which private universities are set up in different states will be examined in light of the latest parameters that the regulator will soon come up with, said the official. “The idea is to identify any lacunae or gaps that lead to a laxity in the maintenance of educational standards, and ways to address them.”

 “The government is in favour of granting more funds and more autonomy to institutions that provide quality education, but ensuring that standards are not diluted is a key premise. Therefore, it is believed this exercise would go a long way in addressing quality concerns,” the official said.

A unique workshop on Cosmetology & Aesthetic Medicine was recently held in Chandigarh, also described as the City Beautiful. It was organised by the Institute of Laser and Aesthetic Medicine (ILAMED) one of the few professional educational institutions providing training and hands-on courses in Cosmetology & Aesthetic Medicine.

The development of cosmetology represents an important breakthrough in health and beauty sciences. Great technological developments have already taken place in this field and many are yet to occur, said  Dr Ajay Rana, Founder and Director of ILAMED.

“In parallel, there is a growing interest from the clients, who are looking for personalised cosmetic solutions. Simultaneously, Aesthetic Medicine is meeting an unprecedented boom in India, with an increasingly growing number of people in demand of aesthetic care.”

“There is a constant need for trained practitioners and ILAMED is providing the required knowledge & practical training in this area through these workshops all across the country,” he added.

Speaking about the workshop, one of the participants Dr Surinder Singh Surya from Himachal Pradesh, Practitioner and Sonologist and also the President of Sonologist Association of Himachal Pradesh, said:

“Before opting for this course we were unaware. But then I came to know about the techniques used around the world. The content of the course is so wonderful and the way Dr Ajay taught us is really marvelous.”

Students will now be able to get admission in higher institutions without submitting original academic and personal certificate at the time of submission of admission forms. A notification is being issued by UGC in this regard, Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Wednesday.

“From the next academic session, it will become mandatory for students to submit self-attested academic credentials along with admission form,” Javadekar said while briefing media about the new notification to be applicable to undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes run by universities and deemed universities.

The Minister said the students would also be able to have their fees refunded if they opted out of the programme.

The college, at the time of admission, will verify the original marksheet but will return the original document to the student. As per the new notification, 100 percent fees would be returned in case a student decides to withdraw within 15 days of the notified last date of admission.

“Not more than 5 per cent of the fees paid by the student, subject to a maximum of Rs 5,000 would be deducted as processing fee,” Javadekar said.

Within 15 days before the last date, the refund would be 90 percent, within 15 days after the last date of admission it would be 80 percent and between 16 and 30 days after the due date, the refund would be 50 percent.

The minister added that no fees would be returned if a student withdraws after 30 days of the notified last date of admission. The refund has to be made within 15 days of receipt of written application from the student.