India's Institutions of Eminence Scheme Lags Behind, Committee Calls for Action

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education raised concerns over the delayed implementation of the Institutions of Eminence scheme, urging the Ministry of Education to establish a timeline for notifying the remaining eligible institutions and to consider global institutions such as Jawaharlal Nehru University. Nearly eight years post-launch, only 12 out of 20 institutions have been designated.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education has expressed dissatisfaction with the slow progress of appointing Institutions of Eminence under a scheme launched in 2017. On Thursday, the committee urged the Ministry of Education to devise a specific timeline for the notification of remaining institutions and expand the program to include globally recognized institutions like Jawaharlal Nehru University.

After tabling its 381st report regarding actions taken on prior recommendations, the committee reiterated that while the IoE scheme aimed to distinguish 10 public and 10 private institutions as world-class, only 12 have been notified so far. The committee previously stressed the need for expedited processing of the pending institutions.

The Ministry of Education has acknowledged the observations and detailed the IoE scheme's regulatory framework, which grants significant autonomy to the designated institutions. Nevertheless, the committee criticized the ministry's reiteration of procedural matters without addressing the core concerns about the scheme’s incomplete implementation. It also recommended expanding the program to include premier institutions known for social sciences and humanities.