PM-USHA Scheme

PM-USHA Scheme

News: Fourteen States and Union Territories have not yet signed a crucial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Union Education Ministry to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) as part of the Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) scheme.

Why have states not joined?
• States like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal are among the 14 States and Union Territories that have not yet signed the crucial MoU with the Union Education Ministry.
• PM-USHA scheme mandates that States implement the National Education Policy in order to avail funds worth almost ₹13,000 crore for the next three years.
• Also, 40% of the fund has to be arranged by States themselves. The states argue they don’t have funds for bringing in NEPrelated changes.

About PM-USHA scheme:
• Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) is the new name for the Ministry’s scheme to improve the quality of higher education in State Universities through curricular and programme changes, teacher training, physical and digital infrastructure, accreditation, and enhancing employability while ensuring equity, access, and inclusion.

What are the major issues plaguing the Higher education in India as identified by NEP 2020?
• 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 lack of competitive peer-reviewed research funding across disciplines; g. Suboptimal governance and leadership of HEIs
• An ineffective regulatory system; and large affiliating universities result in low standards of undergraduate education.

Note – To understand about problems plaguing in Higher education in India, government initiatives to address the same in detail please refer to the following link https://dics.co/current-affairs/higher-education-in-india