State Education Minister Mr. Subhas Sarkar claims that the UGC, NCTE, and HEIs were funded with 44% of the increment budget for Higher Education. Mr. Subhas Sarkar was replying in Rajya Sabha to a question raised that there are no funds released for Higher Education since April 2023. The question also interlinked with an issue when UGC stopped the Major Research Project due to a lack of funds from the Centre.
From the Ministry of State Education, information was served in the upper house of Rajya Sabha yesterday “Funds are released to the institutions by the Ministry of Education based upon the demands received from institutions.” The MoS Education Minister Mr. Subhas Sarkar responded to a question raised in Rajya Sabha on the non-releasing of funds and stopping the Major Research projects by UGC in lack of funds.
The Minister presented data that UGC, AICTE, and Higher Educational Institutions have been allocated the funds with the 44% increment for higher Education. This increment is based on a comparison of 2018-2019 of Rs 23,988 Crore and 2022-2023 of 34,639 Crore. But sources show that in 2018-2019 FY Budget allocation for IITs was reduced from 8,244.8 Crore to Rs 6,326 crore. He also furnished information that the central government has proposed the merger of UGC, AICTE, and NCTE into HECI, a bill underway.
According to Minister Subhas Sarkar, the Ministry of Education will have the sole authentication of granting the funds. After the implementation of the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the Ministry of Higher Education (MHRD), M.Phil, and schooling patterns have been scrapped. The MHRD was replaced by the Ministry of Education and now UGC, AICTE, and NCTE will be replaced by the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI).
Apart from these newly introduced bodies NEP also comprises the Higher Education Funding Agency(HEFA) which will be the lender body for funds to Institutions/Universities. HEFA will lend in a 70:30 ratio to HEIs.
