The government has given Yash Pal committee, a high-level panel constituted to recommend steps to restructure higher education in the country, an extension. The panel headed by UGC chairman Yash Pal has now four more months to submit its final report. Interim report of the panel -- Renovation and Rejuvenation of Universities -- had been submitted to the HRD Ministry last month.
In it interim report, the committee had proposed a Higher Education Commission (HEC) to replace the regulatory bodies existing today apart from other recommendations. "The government has extended the tenure of committee till June end. Its tenure had expired on February 28 this year," a senior ministry official was quoted as saying.
Set up in February 2008, the committee was mandated to study the functioning of different agencies in higher education and suggest measures to restructure the system of higher education.
As per the committee’s interim report the HEC will be an all-encompassing agency for higher education. The recommendation has evoked reservation from University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) among other agencies.