Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)

Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)

The Ministry of Human Resource Development is the nodal agency administering the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) program. It receives the budget targets of participating States, reviews/ analyzes them and then gives approvals and makes disbursements.

Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), launched in 2013 aims at providing strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions. The funding, in the ratio of 60: 40 (Central: State Governments) for general category States, would be norm based and outcome dependent. The funding would flow from the central ministry through the state governments/union territories to the identified institutions.

Vision:

To attain higher levels of access, equity and excellence in the State higher education system with greater efficiency, transparency, accountability and responsiveness.

Objectives

The key objectives of RUSA are to improve access, equity and quality in higher education through planned development of higher education at the state level.

Objectives include

                                      i.      Creating new academic institutions,

                                    ii.      Expanding and upgrading the existing ones,

Developing institutions that are self-reliant in terms of quality education, professionally managed, and characterized by greater inclination towards research and provide students with education that is relevant to them as well the nation as a whole.

·         Improve the overall quality of state institutions by ensuring conformity to prescribed norms and standards and adopt accreditation as a mandatory quality assurance framework

·         Usher transformative reforms in the state higher education system by creating a facilitative institutional structure for planning and monitoring at the state level, promoting autonomy in State Universities and improving governance in institutions

·          Ensure reforms in the affiliation, academic and examination systems

·          Ensure adequate availability of quality faculty in all higher educational institutions and promote capacity building at all levels of employment

·          Create an enabling atmosphere in the higher educational institutions to promote research and innovation

·          Expand institutional base by creating additional capacity in existing institutions and establish new institutions, to achieve higher enrollment

·          Correct the regional imbalances in terms of access to higher education by setting up institutions in un-served and underserved areas of the country

·          Improve equity in higher education by providing adequate opportunities of higher education to SC/STs and socially and educationally backward classes; promote inclusion of women, minorities, and differently-abled persons

Major impact and Targets

·         RUSA seeks to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio of the country to 30% by 2020

·         It also seeks to increase the spending on higher education by the State Governments.

·         The scheme, in its 2nd phase (2017 - 2020), aims at creation of 70 new model degree colleges and 8 new professional colleges; Enhancing quality and Excellence in 10 select State universities and 70 autonomous colleges, providing infrastructural support to 50 universities and 750 colleges etc.

·         Improving access, equity and accessibility of higher education in Slates through reforms such as academic reforms, governance reforms, affiliation reforms etc.

·         Improve equity in higher education by providing adequate opportunities of higher education to socially deprived communities; promote inclusion of women, minorities, SC/ST/OBCs and differently abled persons.

·         To identity and fill up the existing gaps in higher education, by augmenting and supporting the State Governments' efforts.

·         Promote a spirit of healthy competition amongst states and institutions to excel in quality higher education, research and innovation.

 Components

RUSA would create new universities through up gradation of existing autonomous colleges and conversion of colleges in a cluster. It would create new model degree colleges, new professional colleges and provide infrastructural support to universities and colleges. Faculty recruitment support, faculty improvements programmes and leadership development of educational administrators are also an important part of the scheme.

The following are the primary components of RUSA that capture the key action and funding areas that must be pursued for the fulfillment of the targets:

·               Creation of Universities by way of up gradation of existing autonomous colleges

·               Creation of Universities by conversion of colleges in a cluster

·               Infrastructure grants to Universities

·               Enhancing  Quality and Excellence in select State Universities 

·               New Model Colleges (General)

·               Up gradation of existing degree colleges to model colleges

·               New Colleges (Professional)

·               Enhancing Quality and Excellence in Autonomous colleges

·               Infrastructure grants to Colleges

·               Research, innovation and quality improvement

·               Equity initiatives

·               Faculty Recruitment Support

·               Faculty improvements

·               Institutional Restructuring, Capacity Building and Reforms

·               National Higher Education Resource Centre

Scope of RUSA

Strategic funding of state institutions must ensure that the issues of quality and access are addressed in an equitable manner. This would entail encouraging the states to prepare State Higher Education Plan duly keeping the following aspects in mind:

                                         i.      Spatial and regional planning after due mapping

                                       ii.      Programme and discipline planning

                                     iii.      Mandatory accreditation and quality improvement

                                     iv.      Reforms – governance and academic

                                       v.      Infrastructure saturation

                                     vi.      Review of the affiliation system

                                   vii.      Transparent and norm-based funding

                                 viii.      Outcome-based reimbursements

                                     ix.      Faculty planning

                                       x.      Equity interventions

                                     xi.      Focus on research and innovation

RUSA will be implemented through the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) of the Government of India as a “Centrally Sponsored Scheme” with matching contribution from the state governments and Union Territories (UTs).

Priorities and Strategies

The priorities of the state are:

§   Quality Assurance

§   Access and Equity

§   Infrastructure Development

§   Faculty Recruitment

§   Research and innovation

I. Quality assurance

• N.A.A.C. assessment for all the institutions is mandatory. Only 12 Colleges of the state have been accredited so far.
• Necessary grants are to be provided to help institutions within the state for undergoing assessment.

II. Access and Equity

• Provide greater opportunities of access to Higher Education with equity to all the eligible persons and in particular to the vulnerable sections and rural population.
• Expand access by supporting existing institutions, establishing new institutions, to remove imbalances that exist at present.

III. Infrastructure Development

• Thrust on infrastructure development of institutions corresponding to their academic requirements
• Necessary grants are to be provided on a need-based to the institutions within the state.

IV. Capacity Building in Students

• Introduction of job oriented and industrially relevant courses / vocational courses (certificate, Diploma, Degree) to build capacities in students for self employments
• Introducing Remedial classes/ Tutorials/ Career guidance
• Necessary grants are to be provided to the institutions within the state having or willing to introduce such courses/ classes.

IV. Faculty Recruitment

• High Teacher-Student ratio adversely affects quality teaching in the institutions of higher education.
• To promote the quality of Higher Education by lowering the Teacher-Student ratio.
• Incorporating I.C.T. based teaching - learning, virtual classroom to bridge the gaps of shortage of teachers.
• Necessary grants are to be provided to the institutions with high Teacher-Student ratio or institutions introducing new courses/ classes.

V. Research and Innovation

• Lack of opportunity for Research and Development/ limited publications;
• Enhancing Library resource materials and Laboratories.
• To promote Institutions/ Faculty way of providing grants and facilities that support research in different institutions

Conclusion

RUSA is considered as one of the affirmative step which aims to change the Indian Higher Education Landscape radically. Besides routine monitoring of schemes, there is pressing need to evaluate and integrate recommendations from various Reports commissioned by a variety of Committees of the UGC, the MHRD and by independent researchers to ensure a more comprehensive evaluation of various dimensions of higher education in India, including equity in access, in the quality of education and in attainment.