Goa will soon join states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka in constituting a state council for higher education, an autonomous body that will bring all institutes of higher education, including technical education institutes, under its umbrella. The body is expected to be formed by May this year and will be operational before the new academic year that begins from June 2014. The council will play an advisory role in all policy decisions relating to higher education in Goa, director for higher education Bhaskar Nayak told TOI. Formation of such a body for higher education was recommended by experts in the draft state education policy, and though the policy itself has not seen the light of day, the state government has now realized the need for a Goa state council for higher education with the Union human resource development ministry introducing the Rashtriya Ucchatar Shikshan Abhiyan (RUSA) in October last year. RUSA will require a state body that can synergize the relation between different state bodies like the directorate of technical education, directorate of higher education, Goa University etc. Besides, Goa is set to get its first autonomous institute in Smt Parvatibai Chowgule College, Margao, and the councils of higher education in other states have been found useful in monitoring autonomous intuitions. The council could also well be an answer to Goa’s struggles to regulate mushrooming of private higher education institutions with the lack of an act in the state to penalize fake colleges. Role of the council also gains prominence with the Supreme Court recently limiting the role of All India Council of Technical Education to an advisory one, which could also mean limitation in the role of the state directorate of technical education in regulating degree courses in technical education in Goa. Goa state council for higher education will render advice to the government, university and other institutions of higher education in the state. It will propose general guidelines for the release of grants by the government to university and other institutions of higher education and advise the government about the release of such grants. The council will evolve new concepts, programmes and perspective plans for development of higher education suo motu or on suggestions by the government or requests from Goa University or other institutions in the state. It will encourage and promote innovations in curricular development, restructuring of courses and updating of syllabi in the university and the colleges. Source: Education News