Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) is a centrally sponsored scheme of the Government of India executed through the Ministry of Education. It aims at providing strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions. Read here to learn more about the scheme.
Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) was a Centrally Sponsored Scheme to fund State/UTs institutions, with the vision to attain higher levels of access, equity, and excellence in the State higher education system with greater efficiency, transparency, accountability, and responsiveness.
The first phase of the scheme was launched in 2013 and the second phase was launched in 2018.
Now, in the light of the National Education Policy, the RUSA scheme has been launched as Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA).
Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)
RUSA, as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched in October 2013, aimed at providing strategic funding to higher education institutions (HEIs) throughout the country.
- RUSA 1.0 & 2.0 has catered to approximately 2500 institutions for improving access, equity, and quality under 16 components.
- RUSA 1.0 and RUSA 2.0 have already worked diligently and there has been significant progress on several higher educational indicators like Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER), Accreditation (Quality Reforms), Student-Teacher ratio, etc.
However, the gap remains vis-à-vis. access, inclusion, enrolment, quality enhancement, skilling, employability, technology, etc., and therefore, some new interventions are required for achieving the targets and reducing the gaps, ensuring better output and outcome.
PM-USHA aims to address the key gaps and issues identified in the Evaluation Report of Centrally Sponsored Schemes by the NITI Aayog.
The evaluation report by NITI Aayog suggested that:
- The subsumed scheme should be redesigned for rationalization and higher impact.
- The intention is to focus on improving graduate employability through funding for the promotion of market-linked courses, industry connects, student internships, etc;
- Rigorously tracking and monitoring employability outcomes of HEIs;
- Introducing skill-based education for students, and identification of the critical skill gaps in graduates across various disciplines, suitable skill-based, and employment-led vocational courses/ modules;
- Promotion of technology and Open Distance Learning interventions in higher education institutions to leverage technology for promoting access and quality;
- Support to institutes for improvement in NAAC accreditation grades; more emphasis on quality initiatives; promotion of higher uptake of e-learning/ virtual learning; tracking outputs/ outcomes of scheme interventions; promotion of community participation, gender sensitization, etc.
Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA)
PM-USHA covers government and government-aided institutions of the States and UTs.
As the demand for higher education is increasing continuously over the years, there has been an unprecedented expansion in the number of institutions, universities, and volume of students in the country.
The main pillars of the scheme are:
Equity, Access, and Inclusion
- The scheme focuses on equity initiatives and gender inclusion by providing adequate opportunities to underprivileged groups, and it promotes the inclusion of women, minorities, SCs/STs/OBCs, and specially-abled people in higher education, which will help to increase the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER).
- The language barrier for learners must be removed, and multilingualism, such as mother tongue/local and regional languages as a medium of instruction, should be promoted, increasing accessibility among different courses and allowing learners to develop an artistic, creative, cultural, and academic path.
Developing Quality Teaching & Learning processes
- PM-USHA would provide the facilities to the institution for upgrading the physical and digital infrastructure and also for the conversion of single-stream higher education institutions (HEIs) into multiple streams institutions.
- For improving the quality of learning, the Multiple Entry & Exit system, Choice-based Credit System (CBCS), and Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) would all be supported and prioritized sharply under PM-USHA.
Accreditation of Non-Accredited Institutions & Improving Accreditation
- National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), is a national accreditation agency that ensures the overall performance and quality of HEIs.
- NAAC conducts assessment and accreditation of HEIs such as colleges, universities, or other recognized institutions to derive an understanding of the ‘Quality Status’ of the institution.
ICT-based Digital Infrastructure
- ICT efforts, like the National Digital Library, DigiLocker, e-Shodh Sindu, and virtual laboratories will use and give students a virtual platform for their learning opportunities.
- For enhancing the teacher’s capacity in ICT tools, the scheme would also concentrate on the faculty development program.
- With the implementation of ICT Digital Infrastructure under PM-USHA, institutions would be encouraged to provide Wi-Fi facilities, smart classes, and virtual labs on the institute campuses.
Enhancing Employability through Multidisciplinarity
- Collaboration between industry and academia is key to catalyzing innovation and growth in career building. PM-USHA will encourage the HEIs to get linked with the Industry and the Market to strengthen skills, innovations, and employability.
- PM-USHA will focus on the establishment of employment cells to create linkages between Academia, Industry, and the Market.
- It also ensures rigorous tracking and monitoring of employability through market-linked courses and emphasizes the development of cognitive skills and learning outcomes.
National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) is a guiding force in preparing the base for PM-USHA.
Institutional structure of PM-USHA
PM-USHA shall be implemented and monitored through an institutional structure of bodies with clearly defined roles and powers at the Central, State, and institutional levels.
The central level structure comprises four bodies namely
- National Mission Authority (NMA) which would be chaired by Hon’ble Education Minister, GoI
- Project Approval Board (PAB) which would be chaired by Secretary (Higher Education), GoI
- National Project Directorate (NPD)
- Technical Support Group (TSG)
State level structure is comprised of three bodies namely
- State Higher Education Council (SHEC)
- State Project Directorate (SPD)
- State Technical Support Group (State-TSG)
The project at the institutional level is managed by two bodies:
- Board of Governors (BOGs)
- Project Monitoring Unit (PMU)
Objectives of PM-USHA
The objectives of the scheme are:
- To improve the overall quality of existing state higher educational institutions by ensuring their conformity to prescribed norms and standards and adoption of accreditation as a quality assurance framework;
- Usher transformative reforms in the State higher education system by creating a facilitating institutional structure for planning and monitoring at the state level, promoting autonomy in State Universities, and improving governance in institutions;
- Implementation of recommendations of the NEP 2020 through funding support provided to State HEIs;
- Ensure governance, academic, and examination (and evaluation) reforms in the State higher educational institutions and establish backward and forward linkages with school education on one hand and employment market, on the other hand, to facilitate self-reliance and thus create an Atma-Nirbhar Bharat;
- Create an enabling atmosphere in the higher educational institutions to devote themselves to research and innovations;
- Correct regional imbalances in access to higher education by facilitating access to high-quality institutions in urban & semi‐urban areas, creating opportunities for students from rural areas to get access to better quality institutions, and setting up institutions in unserved & underserved areas;
- Developing infrastructure for ODL/Online/Digital mode of education in such States/UTs;
- Improve equity in higher education by providing adequate opportunities for higher education to socially deprived communities; promote inclusion of women, minorities, SC/ST/OBCs, and special-abled persons;
- To identify and fill up the existing gaps in higher education, by augmenting and supporting the State Governments’ efforts;
- Enhancing employability through skilling and vocationalization;
- Improving the accreditation status of accredited institutions and getting accreditation of non-accredited institutions;
- Providing better hostel facilities in remote areas;
- Establishing New Model Degree Colleges in the districts where there are no Government and Government-aided institutions;
- Focusing on low GER, Left Wing Extremism (LWE), border area districts, aspirational districts, and districts with higher SC/ ST population;
- Focus on multidisciplinary education, including STEM, commerce, and humanities fields of education.
Challenges Faced by the higher education system
NEP has identified some of the major problems currently faced by the higher education system in India, which are:
- A severely fragmented higher educational ecosystem; less emphasis on the development of cognitive skills and learning outcomes;
- A rigid separation of disciplines, early specialization, and streaming of students into narrow areas of study;
- Limited access particularly in socio-economically disadvantaged areas, with few HEIs that teach in local languages;
- Limited teacher and institutional autonomy;
- Inadequate mechanisms for merit-based career management and progression of faculty and institutional leaders;
- Lesser emphasis on research at most universities and colleges, and a lack of competitive peer-reviewed research funding across disciplines;
- Suboptimal governance and leadership of HEIs;
- An ineffective regulatory system; and large affiliating universities result in low standards of undergraduate education.
In news
Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal are among 14 States and Union Territories which are yet to sign a MoU with the Union Education Ministry, which mandates the implementation of the NEP to avail funds for the next three years, under the Centre’s flagship scheme for State-run higher education.
- Some State governments have expressed dissatisfaction with the MoU, as it doesn’t address the need for additional funding to implement NEP reforms.
- States are responsible for 40% of the PM-USHA expenses, but the MoU doesn’t provide clarity on funding mechanisms for NEP-related changes.
Also read: National Education Policy 2020: Key Highlights
Way forward
While the Indian higher education ecosystem has made significant progress, it also faces challenges such as ensuring quality education, reducing disparities, addressing the employability gap, and adapting to changing global trends.
Continued efforts in funding, policy development, research, and innovation are essential to ensure the growth and relevance of higher education in India.
-Article by Swathi Satish
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