Institutions of Eminence Scheme (IOE)

NEWS: For private campuses, Institution of Eminence tag gift-wrapped in red tape.

Private campuses get no money under IOE scheme but are promised significant autonomy — that’s only on paper.

• The central Government formulated the IoE scheme to establish 20 prestigious educational institutions in the country.
• It was introduced by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 2017 that required the IoE scheme to receive accreditation within five years of notification.
• The status of ‘Institute of Eminence’ was launched to empower higher education institutions in India and help them implement world-class teaching systems to enhance affordable access to high-quality education.
• Twenty institutions (10 Public and 10 Private Institutions) received the grant, and eleven among the selected ones got the Institutions of Eminence status in April 2021.
• The selected institutes under the scheme enjoy complete academic and administrative autonomy.

 Eligibility:

• Only higher education institutions currently placed in the top 500 of global rankings or top 50 of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) are eligible to apply for the eminence tag.
• The private Institutions of Eminence can also come up as greenfield ventures-provided the sponsoring organisation submits a convincing perspective plan for 15 years.
• The selection is made through challenge method mode by the Empowered Expert Committee constituted for the purpose.

Benefits:

• Autonomy: Institutes with IOE tag will be given greater autonomy and freedom to decide fees, course durations and governance structures.
• Grant: The public institutions under the IOE tag will receive a government grant of Rs 1,000 crore, while the private institutions will not get any funding under the scheme.

 Issues with the scheme:

• No Funding: Private campuses get no money under the IOE scheme.
• Multiplicity of regulators: although IOE regulations promise autonomy from the University Grants Commission, there are over 15 bodies regulating higher education and this leads to  red tape, delays, and compliance demands .
• Mirage of Autonomy: The Report Finds that  UGC still  interferes in issues ranging from Naming of departments to fixing of fees. 
• Difficult Visa norms: the IOE institutes find the 2 year  visa given to foreign faculty very short and a bottle neck in attracting best of faculties from around the world.

Practice Questions for Prelims

. Consider the following statements regarding ‘Institute of Eminence’ scheme :
1. Institutes with IOE tag will be given greater autonomy and freedom to decide fees, course durations and governance structures.
2. Only private educational institutes will be accorded IOE tag and not the Government run educational institute.
3. Private institutions will get funding of 1000 crore rupees under the scheme.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 1 and 2 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) 1,2 and 3

Ans. A

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