LexThe ASSAM STATE HIGHER EDUCATION COUNCIL ACT, 2017 (SINGLE DOCUMENT)
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ASSAM ACT NO. XXI OF 2017
(Received the assent of the Governor on 6th April, 2017)
THE ASSAM STATE HIGHER EDUCATION COUNCIL ACT, 2017
AN
ACT
Preamble.
to provide for the establishment of a State Higher Education Council to
regulate, supervise and develop higher education in the State of Assam.
Whereas it is expedient to establish a State Higher Education Council
for the State of Assam as a collective of the Government, Universities,
Academies, Experts and People's Representatives in order to derive a
synergic relationship among them by occupying an operational space in
between the Government and Universities and between Universities and
apex level regulatory bodies in the State of Assam.
It is hereby enacted in the Sixty-eight Year of the Republic of India as
follows:-
Short title,
extent and
commencement.
1.
(1) This Act may be called the Assam State Higher Education Council
Act, 2017.
(2) It extends to the whole of Assam.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may,
by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
Definitions.
2. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant to the subject context,-
(a) "Council" means the Assam State Higher Education Council
established under section 3 of this Act;
(b) "Government" means the State Government of Assam;
(c) "General Council" means the plenary body of the council headed by
the Chief Minister of State of Assam under section 8;
(d) "Executive Council" means the body under the Chairmanship of
Chief Secretary, Assam under section 20;
(e) "Director" means the Director of the Council appointed by the
Government of Assam;
(f) "Officer and staff" means all whole time and part time functionaries
of the Council engaged in any manner or taken on deputation and
would include consultants, fellows and research staff;
(g) "Graduation" shall mean the courses of three years General Degree
courses and four years Technical Degree courses;
(h) "Post Graduate" shall mean the courses of Master Degree;
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(i) "Higher Education" means education, whether professional,
technical or otherwise leading to the obtaining of any degree or
diploma from the University;
(j) "Provincialised Colleges" means those Colleges for which the
Government has taken liabilities for payment of salaries including
dearness allowances, medical allowances and such other allowances
admissible to the Government employees of similar category and
gratuity, pension, leave encashment etc. as admissible under the
existing rules , to the employees of the State Government serving
under the Government of Assam;
(k) "Principal" means the head of the teaching as well as non-teaching
staff of a college;
(l) "regulations' means the regulations framed by the Council under this
Act ;
(m) "rules" means rules made by State Government under this Act;
(n) "Notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;
(o) "prescribed" means prescribed by the rules made under this Act;
(p) "State" means the State of Assam.
Constitution of
the Council.
3.
(1) The Government may be notification, constitute with effect from
such date as may be specified therein, a council to be called the
Assam State Higher Education Council.
(2) The Council shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession
and a common seal and shall by that name sue and be sued.
(3) The Council shall have the power to acquire and hold both movable
and immovable property and subject to the provisions of the Act and
the rules made thereunder to transfer any property held by it and to
contract and to do all other things necessary for the purpose of this
Act.
(4) The headquarter of the Council shall be located at Guwahati.
Responsibilities
of the Council.
4. The following shall be the responsibilities of the Council, namely:-
(1) Strategic intervention for the improvement of access, equity and
quality in higher education in the State;
(2) Ensuring the autonomy and accountability of all Institutions of
Higher Education in the State;
(3) Promoting academic excellence and social justice by providing
academic input to the State Government for policy formulation and
perspective planning;
(4) Guiding the growth of Higher Education in accordance with the
socio-economic requirements of the State ;
(5) To render advice to the Government, State Universities, Private
Universities and other institution of Higher Education in the State;
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(6) To coordinate the roles of the Government, State Universities,
Private Universities and apex level regulatory agencies in Higher
Education within the State ;
(7) To provide common facilities in Higher Education without impairing
upon the autonomy of other institutions of Higher Education.
Functions of the
Council.
5. The Council shall perform the following functions, namely:-
(1) Review and coordinate the implementation of policies in all Higher
Education Institutions in the State of Assam including Universities,
Research Institutions and Colleges;
(2) Network various programmes in Higher Education undertaken and
promoted by National and International Institutions including
Central and State Governments and by National level regulatory
bodies like University Grants Commission, All India Council for
Technical Education, National Council for Teacher Education,
Medical Council of India, Bar Council of India and other similar
statutory bodies;
(3) Undertake independent work for the generation and dissemination
of new ideas in Higher Education including innovative teaching
and learning methodologies with the use of State-of-the-Art
Technology;
(4) Provide common facilities for all Universities, Research
Institutions, Colleges and other centers of Higher Education;
(5) Facilitate scientific survey, evaluation and monitoring process and
to provide for the generation and optimum utilization of funds for
the expansion and development of Higher Education;
(6) Undertake such other programmes for promoting the objectives of
social justice and excellence in education;
(7) Formulate and evolve State Higher Education Plan (SHEP) for the
development of higher education, suomoto or on the suggestion
from Government or request from State Universities or other
Institutions;
(8) Provide support to State Institutions and affiliated institutions for
formulation production of their plans and implementing them;
(9) Monitor the implementation of State Higher Education Plan;
(10) Compile and maintain periodic statistics at state and institutional
level and assist in All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE);
(11) Evaluate Institutions on the basis of norms developed by national
level higher education agencies;
(12) Suggest improvements in curriculum and syllabus in accordance
with the changing societies and academic requirements and also
maintain quality of curriculum;
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(13) To ensure quality of examinations and suggest reforms in
examination;
(14) Undertake necessary steps for establishing inter-linkage between
research and learning process;
(15) Protect the autonomy of State Institutions and review periodically
the statutes, ordinances and regulations of the Universities in the
State and suggest appropriate improvement for the realization of
the objects of social justice and academic excellence in education,
and advise the universities or other institute of higher education on
formulation of statute, ordinance or regulations;
(16) Provide approval to setting up new institutions of higher education;
(17) Suggest accreditation reform measures in consultation with
National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC);
(18) Advise State Government on strategic investments in higher
education;
(19) Evolve guidelines for linkages of an academic nature between
higher education institutions in the State and institutions within and
outside the country;
(20) Make proposals for the generation and utilization of funds with the
objective of this Act ;
(21) Evolve general guidelines for the release of grants by the
Government or any agency authorized by the Government and
disburse funds to the Universities and Colleges on the basis of State
Higher Education Plan (SHEP);
(22) Evolve methodology for timely transfer of the funds earmarked for
the State Universities and other institution of higher education;
(23) Hold discussions, conduct workshops, seminars with the objective
of facilitating the widest possible consultancies with experts and
stakeholders for formulating the policies and on higher education
and facilitating proper implementation;
(24) Provide a forum for the interaction among the academia, industries,
agriculture and science sectors;
(25) Co-ordinate various programmes being promoted and undertaken
by Central and State Government and national level apex
regulatory bodies in the territory of India.
Composition of
the Council.
6. (1) The Council consists of three bodies, namely:-
(a) General Council :
This is the plenary body of the Council
headed by Hon'ble Chief Minister,
Assam;
(b)Executive Council : This is a high-power, body under the
Chairmanship of Chief Secretary,
Assam;
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(c) State Project :
Directorate
This is the operational body which shall
be Headed by the Director of the
Council.
Organizational
Structure of the
Council.
7.
(a) Chairman, General
Council
(b) Vice-Chairman,
General Council
(c ) Chairman, Executive
Council
: Hon'ble Chief Minister, Assam;
: Hon'ble Minister in Charge of the
Higher Education, Assam;
: Chief Secretary, Assam, Government
of Assam.
Officers of the
University.
8.
The General Council shall consists of the following members, namely :-
(1) The Chief Minister, Assam
: Chairman;
(2) The Minister in charge of the Higher
Education, Assam
:Vice
Chairman;
(3) Chief Secretary, Assam : Member;
(4) Vice-Chancellors of the state Universities
: Member;
(5) The Senior most Secretary of Higher
Education Department, Government of
Assam
: Member;
(6) A nominee of the University Grants
Commission not below the rank of Joint
Secretary
:Ex-officio
member;
(7) Six academicians of repute from different
Academic disciplines of whom one shall be
a woman, one belonging to the Scheduled
Tribes nominated by the Government
: Member;
(8) Three Members from the Faculties of
Universities/ Colleges to be nominated by
the Government
: Member;
(9) One representative from the Principals of the
Provincialized Colleges to be nominated by
the Government
: Member;
(10) One representative from the Principals of the
Government Colleges to be nominated by
the Government
: Member;
(11) The Senior most Secretary to the
Government
:Ex-officio
member;
(12) The Senior most Secretary to the
Government of Assam, Health and family
Welfare Department
:Ex-officio
member;
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(13) The Senior most Secretary to the
Government of Assam, Elementary
Education Department
(14) The Senior most Secretary to the
Government of Assam, Secondary
Education Department
:Ex-officio
member;
:Ex-officio
member;
(15) The Secretary to the Government
of Assam, Judicial Department
:Ex-officio
member;
(16) The Senior most Secretary to the
Government of Assam, Agriculture
Department
:Ex-officio
member;
(17) The Senior most Secretary to the
Government of Assam, Co-operation
Department
:Ex-officio
member;
(18) The Senior most Secretary to the
Government of Assam,P.W.D.(Building),
Assam
:Ex-officio
member;
(19) The Director of Higher Education, Assam :Ex-officio
member;
(20) The Director of Technical Education, Assam :Ex-officio
member;
(21) The Director of Medical Education, Assam :Ex-officio
member;
(22) Director of the Council :Member
Secretary.
Functions of the
General Council.
9. The functions of the General Council shall be as follows:-
(1) General Functions ;- The Council shall,-
(a) The Council shall render advice to the Government, Universities
and other institutions of higher education in the State;
(b) co-ordinate the roles of the Government, Universities and apex
regulatory agencies in higher education within the State;
(c) evolve new concepts, programmes and perspective plans for
development of Higher Education as required or on the
suggestion by the Government or requests from Universities or
other institutions of the State;
(d) monitor the progress of implementation of the Developmental
Programmes of the Universities and Colleges taken up in the
State with the assistance of Regulatory Agencies / Expert
Bodies;
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(e) promote co-operation and co-ordination among the educational
institutions and explore the scope for interaction with industry
and other related establishments;
(f) prepare an annual report making self-appraisal and showing
details of its performance;
(g) suggest measures for the academic and financial accountability
of the Universities and other institutions of higher education in
the State;
(h) examine and approve the annual budget and the audited
statement of receipt and expenditure in such manner as may be
prescribed;
(2) Academic Functions:- The Council shall,-
(a) encourage and promote innovation in curricular development,
restructuring of courses and updating of syllabi in the
Universities and the colleges;
(b) co-ordinate the programmes of autonomous colleges and
monitor their implementation;
(c) devise steps to improve the standard of examinations conducted
by the universities, autonomous bodies and suggest necessary
reforms;
(d) facilitate training of teachers of the universities and colleges;
(e) promote and monitor publication of quality text books,
monographs and reference books, etc.
(f) develop programmes for greater academic co-operation and
interaction between university and college teachers and facilitate
mobility of students and teachers within and outside the State;
(g) advice on regulation of admission in universities, colleges and
institutions of Higher Education in the State;
(h) encourage and devise programmes for sports, games, physical
education and socio-cultural activities in the universities and
colleges;
(i) review periodically the existing guidelines and furnish
recommendations for regulating admissions to various courses
and for appointments to the posts of teachers and teacher
administrators in the universities, colleges and other institutions
of higher education;
(j) prepare an overview report on the working of the universities
and colleges in the State and furnish a copy thereof to the
Government and such other authorities as the Government may
specify;
(k) perform such other functions for the realization of the objectives
of access, equity and quality in higher education of the State;
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(3) Advisory Functions :- The Council shall advise the Government,-
(a) regarding the norms, if any, relating to the establishment of
new universities and colleges besides introduction of
additional subjects and departments in the existing universities
and colleges;
(b) regarding the Statutes, Ordinances and Regulations of
universities in the State and to suggest modification wherever
required to maintain uniformity in the administration without
prejudice to the autonomy for the academic pursuits;
(c) on any university, college or institutions of Higher Education
or any other matter relating to higher education and research
activity which may be referred to the Council;
(d) In determining the infrastructure maintenance grants and to lay
down the basis for such grants;
(4) Any other Functions:- The Council shall perform any other functions
necessary for the furtherance of Higher Education in the State.
Powers of the
General Council .
10. The General Council shall:-
(a) prepare a perspective plan for implementation of the policies, evolve
various programmes and determine the priorities of such
programmes for implementation;
(b) propose general guidelines for the release of grants by the
Government to universities and other institutions of higher education
and advise the Government about the release of such grants to each
university and other institutions of higher education;
(c) give such directions as may be necessary for effective functioning of
the other bodies of the Council in accordance with its objectives;
(d) have such other powers as may be prescribed for the effective
implementation of the programmes for the furtherance of the
objectives of this Act.
Powers of the
Chairman of the
General Council.
11. The Chairman of the General Council shall have the following powers,
namely:-
(a) to call for report on any matter pertaining to the affairs of the
Council and offer suggestions for overall improvement of the
functioning of the Council;
(b) to preside over all meetings of the Council.
Powers of the
Vice Chairman
of the General
Council.
12. The Vice-Chairman shall have the following powers, namely:-
(a) to preside over the meetings of the Council in the absence of the
Chairman;
(b) to call for report in any matter pertaining to the affairs of the
Council as may appear to him to be necessary;
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(c) to exercise such other powers and perform such other functions as
may be assigned by the General Council and/or the Chairman, as
the case may be;
(d) to exercise powers of superintendence /monitoring in all matters of
functioning of the Council.
Publication of
names of the
members of the
Council.
13. The names of the persons appointed/nominated by the Government as
members of the Council shall be published in the Official Gazette by the
Government.
Terms of the
Members.
14.
Any member other than an ex-officio members shall be appointed by the
Government ordinarily for a term of five years and shall not be eligible
for re-appointment for a second term:
Provided that the Government may, in exceptional circumstances
for reasons to be recorded in writing, by notification in the Official
Gazette, extend the term of such member for another period not
exceeding six months.
Meetings of the
Council.
15.
(1) The Council shall meet as often as may be necessary, but it shall
meet at least once a year.
(2) The Council shall have power to act, notwithstanding any vacancy
in the membership or any defect in the constitution thereof, and the
proceedings of the Council shall be valid notwithstanding that some
person, who was not entitled to be a member, had attended, or
otherwise had taken part in the proceedings of the Council.
(3) The meeting of the Council shall be convened by the Director on
the advice of the Chairman.
(4) The quorum of the meeting of the Council shall be one third of the
total existing roll of members of the Council.
(5) In case of requirement, the decisions of the meeting may be taken
by simple majority of those present and voting.
Qualification,
powers and
functions of the
Director.
16. (1) A senior administrative officer, serving or retired, not below the
rank of Secretary to the State Government, having aptitude and
experience in the field of education or an academician who is or has
been a Vice Chancellor or a Professor with not less than ten years
of experience shall be appointed by the Government as the Mission
Director of the Council:
Provided that a person who has not attained the age of sixty
five years shall be eligible to be appointed as the Director.
(2) The Director shall be appointed by the Government ordinarily for a
term of five years and shall not be eligible for re-appointment for a
second term.
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(3) The Director shall be the Executive Officer and responsible for the
co- operation of the functions of the Council.
(4) The Director shall exercise such powers and perform such
functions as may be prescribed by the General Council and
Executive Council.
Terms and
conditions of
Director and
Members.
17.
(1) The Director or any Member, may in writing under his/her
signature, addressing to the Chairman, resign his/ her membership
to the Council :
Provided that he/she shall continue to hold such office until
his/ her resignation is accepted and communicated in writing.
(2) The salaries, allowances and other perquisites payable to the
Director and other Office bearers shall be finalized by the General
Council with the approval of the Government.
(3) Subject to the pleasure of the Government, the Director shall hold
the office for a term of five years or till the expiry of the term of the
body represented by him whichever is earlier.
(4) The other terms and conditions of service of the Director and
Members shall be such as may be specified in the regulations.
Removal from
membership of
the council.
18. (1) If, at any time, it appears to the Government that a member
appointed or nominated has proved himself to be unfit to hold
office or has been guilty of misconduct or neglect which in the
opinion of the Government requires his removal from the
membership of the Council, as expedient, the Government may,
after giving such member a reasonable opportunity of showing
cause as to why he/ she shall not be removed from the Council and
after examining the same, decide whether to continue or remove
such member, as the case may be, from his/ her membership and in
case of such removal from the membership of the Council, it shall
be made by notification.
(2) The Director shall not be removed except by an order of the State
Government passed on the ground of willful omission or refusal to
carry out the Rules or Regulations or for abuse of the powers
vested in him after consideration of the report of an inquiry ordered
by the State Government in this behalf.
Filling up of
casual vacancy.
19. If a casual vacancy arises of a nominated or appointed Member, either
by reason of his death, resignation, removal or otherwise, such vacancy
shall be filled up by the Government by nomination or appointment as
the case may be and such Member shall hold office only for the
remaining period of the term of the Member in whose place he was
nominated or appointed.
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Constitution of
the Executive
Council.
20.
The Executive Council shall consists of:-
(1) The Chief Secretary, Govt. of Assam : Chairman;
(2) Senior most Secretary of Higher
Education Department, Government
of Assam
: Vice-Chairman;
(3) The Director of the Council : Member Secretary;
(4) Secretary to the Govt. of Assam
(Higher/Technical) Education
: Member;
(5) The Chief Engineer,
P.W.D.(Building), Assam
: Member;
(6) Director of Higher Education, Assam : Member;
(7) Director of Technical Education,
Assam
: Member;
(8) Director of Medical Education, Assam
: Member;
(9) Director, Secondary Education,
Assam
: Member;
(10) Director, Elementary Education,
Assam
: Member;
(11) Four academicians of repute to be
nominated for a period of three years
by Government
: Members;
(12) One of the Joint Secretary / Deputy
Secretary/Under Secretary, Education
Department, Government of Assam
: Member;
(13) Two members to be co-opted by the Executive Council in its first
meeting from amongst the Educationists / Academicians /Experts
in the field of Higher Education.
21. The Executive Council shall exercise the powers and perform the
functions as follows, namely:-
(1) The Executive Council shall be competent to take decisions on
behalf of the General Council, subject to the concurrence of the
General Council in urgent matters relating to policy implications:
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Provided that in case of urgent circumstances, the Executive
Council may take administrative decisions subject to ratification by
the General Council.
Provided further that the urgent matters having policy
implications shall be placed for decision of the Executive Council
with the approval of the Vice-Chairman of the General Council.
(2) The Executive Council shall incur such expenses as may be
necessary to fulfil the objectives of the Assam State Higher
Education Council and carry out all decision taken by the General
Council.
(3) The Executive Council shall present before the General Council an
Annual Budget and Academic and Financial Audit report of the
Council for its approval.
(4) The Executive Council shall have such other powers, functions and
duties as may be specified in the regulations.
Meetings of the
Executive
Council.
22.
(1) The meetings of the Executive Council shall be convened by the
Mission Director on the advice of the Chairman and/or the Vice-
Chairman.
(2) The Executive Council shall meet as often as may be necessary, at
least once in three months.
(3) The quorum for the meetings of the Executive Council shall be one
third of the filled up membership in each body and decisions may
be taken in the meetings by simple majority of those present and
voting.
Staff Project
Directorate.
23.
(1) The Council shall, with prior approval of the Government, appoint
such officers and staff as it deems necessary for the discharge of its
functions.
(2) The terms and conditions of service of the officers and staff of the
Council shall be such as may be specified in the regulations.
State Project
Directorate.
24.
The State Government will constitute a State Project Directorate (SPD)
with following composition and functions:-
(1) The State Project Directorate shall be headed by the Director of
the Council and such adequate support staff as may be required
for the effective functioning of the State Project Directorate.
(2) The State Project Directorate shall:-
(i) oversee project implementation at the State level;
(ii) maintain statistical data and Management Information
System (MIS) report; and
(iii) engage Project Auditors as required.
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Technical
Support Group.
25.
(1) The State Higher Education Council may appoint a Technical
Support Group consisting of experts.
(2) The composition and term of the Technical Support Group shall
be decided by the Council.
(3) The function of the Technical Support Group shall be to:-
(a) monitor flow of funds and information;
(b) generate Management Information System (MIS) reports as
required; and
(c) provide operational support to the Council.
Funds of the
Council.
26. (1) The funds of the Council shall include all sums which may, from
time to time, be paid to it by the Government and all other
receipts including any sum from the Central Government, the
University Grants Commission or any other authority, institutions
or persons.
(2) In addition to the State share under Rastriya Uchchatar Shiksha
Abhiyan (RUSA), the Government may pay to the Council every
financial year such sums as may be considered necessary for the
functioning of the Council and for the discharge of its
responsibilities and duties.
(3) All expenditure incurred by the Council under or for the purposes
of this Act shall be defrayed from out of the Fund and any surplus
remaining, after such expenditure has been met, shall be invested
in such manner as may be prescribed.
Status of
members and
staff of council.
27. The Chairman, Co-Chairman, Members, Officers and Staff of the
Council when acting or purporting to act in pursuance of any of the
provisions of this Order shall be deemed to be public servants.
Powers of the
Government.
28. (1) On the recommendation of the Council suo-moto, the
Government may direct any university and institutions of Higher
Education with such modification as may be necessary to
implement the reforms in such manner as may be specified
therein. Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the
time being in force, it shall be obligatory on the part of the
university or the institution as the case may be, to implement the
directions given by the Government and to report the action taken
to the Government and the council accordingly. The council shall
review from time to time the compliance by the
universities/institutions of the direction given by the Government.
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(2) For any important policy decision, prior approval of the
Government shall be taken by the Council. Council shall also
implement its policy in consonance with the general Higher
Education Policy of the Govt. and shall not work in contradiction
to the Government policy.
Removal of
difficulty.
29.
If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the
Government may, by order, as occasion may require, do anything not
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act which appears to be
necessary or expedient for the purpose of removing the difficulty.
Power to make
regulations.
30.
The Council may, from time to time, subject to the previous approval of
the State Government, make regulations consistent with the provisions
of the Act and the rules, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of
this Act.
Power to make
rules.
31. (1) The Government may make rules for carrying out the purposes of
this Act.
(2) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid as soon as may be
after it is made, before the Assam Legislative Assembly while it
is in session for a total period of fourteen days, which may be
comprised in one session or in two successive sessions, and if,
before the expiry of the session in which it is so laid or the session
immediately followings, the Assam Legislative Assembly agrees
in making any modification in the rule or the Assam Legislative
Assembly agrees that the rule should not be made, the rule shall
thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no
effect, as the case may be; so however, that any such modification
or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything
previously done or omitted to be done under that rule.
S. M. BUZAR BARUAH,
Commissioner & Secretary to the Govt. of Assam,
Legislative Department, Dispur, Guwahati-6.