National Knowledge Commission

National Knowledge Commission (NKC) was constituted in June 2005 under the Chairmanship of Mr. Sam Pitroda, to prepare a blueprint for reform of our knowledge related institutions and infrastructure which would enable India to meet the challenges of the future. The vision for NKC was “to create a second wave of institution building, and of excellence in the fields of education, research and capability building.”
Broadly, the objectives of reform and change in the higher education system in India, as set by the NKC, are: expansion, excellence and inclusion. The major recommendations of NKC for achieving these objectives are:
(i) Expansion:
• Create many more universities--1500 universities nationwide and achieve a gross enrolment ratio of at least 15 per cent by 2015.
• Change the system of regulation for higher education--establish an Independent Regulatory Authority for Higher Education (IRAHE)
• Increase public spending and diversify sources of financing--government support for higher education should increase to at least 1.5 per cent of GDP, out of a total of at least 6 per cent of GDP for education overall. Other possibilities that can complement the increase in public expenditure should be explored.
(ii) Inclusion:
• Ensure access for all deserving students--no student is denied the opportunity to participate in higher education due to financial constraints.
• Affirmative action—ensure access to education for economically and historically socially underprivileged students
(iii) Excellence:
• Reform existing universities—revise or restructure curricula, transition to a course credit system where degrees are granted on the basis of completing a requisite number of credits from different courses;
• Restructure undergraduate colleges—to provide autonomy to colleges either as individual colleges or as clusters of colleges, A Central Board of Undergraduate Education (CBUE) should be established, along with State Boards of Undergraduate Education, which would set curricula and conduct examinations for undergraduate New undergraduate colleges could be established as community colleges colleges that choose to be affiliated with them.
• Promote enhanced quality— The higher education system must provide for accountability to society and create accountability within. An expansion of higher education which provides students with choices and creates competition between institutions is going to be vital in enhancing accountability. Evaluation of courses and teachers by students as well as peer evaluation of teachers by teachers should be encouraged. There must be a focus on upgrading infrastructure, improving the training of teachers and continuous assessment of syllabi and examination systems. It is necessary to formulate appropriate policies for the entry of foreign institutions into India and the promotion of Indian institutions abroad, while ensuring a level playing field for foreign and domestic institutions within the country.