HRD Min mulling penal provisions for edu instts giving false

The Union HRD Ministry is mulling penal provisions to punish an educational institution for submitting false data, including stopping development grants, as it works toward major reforms in the UGC.
According to official sources, the Ministry was also working on a criteria under which a better performing institutions would be given more autonomy.
"Such institutes will get more freedom in introducing new courses or their syllabi. However, the process of deciding which institute is a better performing one may also depend on the data related to it," they said.
In a recent meeting of senior ministry officials, it was discussed that there should be a greater focus on data capture as compared to physical inspections.

As the ministry also looks at creating a clear process for accreditation, it is also considering bringing in a mechanism where there is a penal provision for institutions that submit fraudulent data, they said.
It is being considered that there should be penal provisions like stopping of development grants for an institution that submits fraudulent data, they added.