On Monday, October 26, a review meeting was held by the IoEs (Institutions of Eminence) where Sanjay Dhotre, the Minister of State of Education was the chairman along with the Education Minister of India, Ramesh Pokhriyal. He made a statement that certain indicators of Times Higher Education and International QS rankings will be utilized for mapping the progression of Institution of Eminence (IoE). in India.

Pokhriyal also tweeted and shared several topics that were discussed in the review meeting such as the necessary measures that would be taken into consideration for the recruitment of more international faculties in the country, where he also mentioned the mapping system of IoE.

In addition to this, the Education Minister also stated that the institutions that are performing well shall be rewarded with certain incentives, and that a proper mechanism for monitoring such institutions shall be introduced as well. He further added, “An integrated portal containing world-class research papers from all higher education institutions (HEIs) shall be made.”

He shared that the officials were directed to formulate a detailed and well-oriented strategy, considering the qualitative and quantitative measures, for the construction of such institutes. The guidelines as provided by the New Education Policy (NEP) shall be administered during the building of these institutes. The multitudes of institutions have been asked to represent Indian education in a global scenario and improve their world rankings, as they upgrade their multidisciplinary streams.

As per the IoE scheme, public institutes will be provided approximately Rs. 1,000 crore funding and shall be exempted from any inspection by the UGC. The private institutions will enjoy academic and administrative autonomy but would not receive any financial support under the IoE.

The IoE scheme was launched by the Health Ministry in 2018, according to which 10 public and 10 private institutions were to be selected to enjoy administrative and academic autonomy. IIT-Delhi, IISc-Bengaluru, and IIT-Bombay were selected in the first lot of public institutions, while BITS Pilani and Manipal Academy of Higher Education were selected among the private institutes.

An eminent status was granted to IIT-Madras, IIT-Kharagpur, Delhi University, Banaras Hindu University, and the University of Hyderabad last September. The Jio Institute by Reliance Foundation has been marked in the Greenfield category under the IoE list.

Also, five private institutes were granted the letter of intent to get the IoE status which included Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (Odisha), Satya Bharti Foundation’s Bharti Institute (Mohali), Vellore Institute of Technology and Amrita Vidyapeeth (Tamil Nadu), and Jamia Hamdard University (Delhi).

The author is a student member of Amity Centre of Happiness.