Develop finance panels for state public varsities: Niti Aayog report

The NITI Aayog, the apex policy think tank of the government, has recommended development of robust alumni engagement programmes as well as infrastructure finance agencies for state public universities on the lines of the Centre’s Higher Education Financing Agency, to effectively address their financial needs. Develop finance panels for state public varsities: Niti Aayog report In a report released on Monday, titled “Expanding quality higher education through states and state public universities”, the Aayog has presented nearly 80 policy recommendations to address various issues related to four areas of SPUs: quality of education; funding and financing; governance; and employability among students enrolled in them. Pointing out that SPUs — India has 423 of these, accounting for nearly 81% of the total enrolment among Indian HEIs — face financial challenges due to dependency on traditional revenue sources such as admission fees and state grants, the report underlined “administrative delays in fund sanctioning” along with the lack of framework for bank loans as major challenges for funding and financing of SPUs. To overcome financial challenges, it suggested: “States may consider establishing a finance agency similar to the Higher Education Financing Agency, dedicated specifically to SPUs.