Vested interests didn’t allow panel report to get Parliament nod,says Prof Yash Pal

The 94-page report,prepared by the 24-member committee headed by Professor Yash Pal and consisting of eminent educationists from across the country including chairpersons of UGC,AICTE and NAAC and directors of IIT,was submitted to the Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal in June 2009. More than four years after its submission,the report is yet to see the light of the day.

Expressing resentment over the issue,Professor Yash Pal said,“The approval of the report would have led to the abolishing of all professional councils including UGC,AICTE,Medical Council of India (MCI),as all their powers would have been transferred to the National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER). They did not want it to happen.”

The Yash Pal Committee Report had called for setting up of a De novo regulatory body called the National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER). This was supposed to take over the powers of all 13 existing professional councils responsible for providing recognition of courses,promotion of professional institutions and providing grants to under-graduate programmes.

“There was a long discussion in the Parliament over the report. Most of the members liked it and I saw members nodding their heads when they read the report,but they still failed to approve it,” said Professor Yash Pal.

Terming it as the ‘best report on renovation of Higher Education’ till date,Pal said the internal fights among members was another reason for the report not getting a clearance in the Parliament.

Highlighting its significance,Pal said there can be no compartmentalisation in knowledge,be it engineering or sciences. “Breaking up of knowledge is not justified. I do not understand why only medical colleges should have the authority of teaching medicine. Every university must provide a complete knowledge of all the streams,be it sciences,psychology,economics or technology,” he said.

‘Don’t make measures of excellence from outside. Make your own’

CHANDIGARH: Congratulating PU on its achievement of being ranked among the top 250 universities of the world,Professor Yash Pal said,“I knew the university will make it.

The varsity has so many different courses,unlike others which provide isolated knowledge.” He also called upon the varsity not to be an ordinary great university,but make it a place for creation of new ideas.

“Do not make measures of excellence from outside. Make your own measures. Listen to people’s experiences and do a lot of thinking,” he added. ENS

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