Government yet to appoint council members under 2017 education law

AHMEDABAD: Council members have not yet been appointed under the Gujarat State Higher Education Council Act, 2016. The Act came into force in April 2017. “The process of selection of the members is under way and it will be completed shortly,” said Anju Sharma, the principal secretary of the education department. The council will comprise 32 members, including 15 ex-officio members, according to the Act.
The Act aims to incorporate a council called the Gujarat State Higher Education Council. It will be the supreme body for higher education and shall be responsible for planned and coordinated development of higher education in the state. The stated aim of the council is to bring uniformity to education. The council, according to Sharma, is functional with the active participation of ex-officio members.
But a senior official in the education department said that important decisions are pending with the council because of its lack of numbers. The appointment of the members of the executive committee of the council is also pending as a result, he said. The council members, yet to be appointed by the state government, include eight university vice-chancellors, one provost of a private university, five eminent persons, two eminent scholars, three eminent academicians, and one member secretary.
The council is responsible for advising the state government on matters relating to higher education. Earlier, financial assistance through grants under the Rashtriya Shiksha Mission were directly given to colleges. These will now be routed through the council after the verification of each project.