Two Haryana varsities are among the 62 universities in India granted autonomy by the UGC for maintaining high standards of excellence.
The Kurukshetra University and the Guru Jambeshwar University of Science and Technology in Haryana were awarded this status by the University Grants Commission (UGC), state Education minister Ram Bilas Sharma said today.
The status granted by the commission gives the varsities different degrees of freedom in academic and administrative decision-making.
The Kurukshetra University ranked eight with a NAAC score of 3.52 was granted Grade-I autonomy and the Guru Jambeshwar University of Science and Technology ranked 21 with a score of 3.28 was given Grade-II autonomy, the minister said.
He said of the two private universities awarded this status, the O P Jindal Global University is in Haryana. It was ranked one with a NAAC score of 3.26 and granted Grade-II autonomy, Sharma said.
The minister said, "These universities have brought laurels to the state and we all are proud of the efforts made by their administration for achieving new heights in the field of higher education."
"The Haryana government is committed to provide quality higher education in the state," he said, adding that there are 799 universities in India as per the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) Survey 2015-16.
Principal Secretary, Higher Education department, Jyoti Arora said the state government has already made accreditation from NAAC mandatory for all institutions of higher learning in Haryana.
Necessary directions have been issued to all vice chancellors and principals in this regard, she said.
The officer said that as a part of major reforms in higher education in Haryana, the government for the first time has developed a format for reviewing the progress of state universities on various indicators.
The quality of academics, teaching, research, employability, infrastructure, inclusiveness and social impact among others would be evaluated, she said, adding that these would play a major role in issue of grant-in-aid.
The officer said that a framework would be implemented from the next session to make college education more job oriented.
The universities have been granted autonomy under the UGC's new regulation on 'Categorization of Universities for Grant of Graded Autonomy', Arora said.
This aims to provide greater autonomy to institutions under three categories, based on their National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) score and giving them different degrees of freedom in academic and administrative decision-making, she said.