First TGCHE, V-Cs meet deliberates on higher education roadmap for state

Hyderabad: An introductory meeting of all the vice-chancellors of the state universities with the Telangana Council of Higher Education (TGCHE) Chairman Prof V Balakista Reddy and Principal Secretary Education N Sridhar took place on Friday. Extensive discussions were held on improving the standards of the higher education sector and the challenges faced by the universities.

The meeting was held on Friday under the leadership of Prof Balakista Reddy, and the principal secretary presented the vision and mission of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for advancing higher education in the state. He asked the VCs to identify and present the core challenges faced by their universities, accompanied by a detailed note to submit to the Chief Minister.

He further suggested the TGCHE Chairman constitute committees to address critical issues in the higher education sector in the Recruitment Processes and Career Advancement (RP&CA).The committees will examine how to streamline the recruitment procedures in universities, apart from issues related to superannuation policies and the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) promotions. Also, a committee will be constituted to prepare the modalities on university faculty recruitment as per the UGC regulations and G.O.Ms.No.15 of the Higher Education Department.

The Vice-Chancellor, Dr BRAOU, Prof. Ghanta Chakrapani, will be the Chairman of the Committee, and the Vice-Chancellor, Osmania University, Prof. Kumar Molugaram, the Vice-Chancellor, Mahatma Gandhi University, Prof. Khaja Altaf Hussain and two additional experts, to be decided by the committee based on their expertise will act as the members of the committee.

The discussions also focused on the budgetary challenges that universities face. The Principal Secretary suggested that Vice-Chancellors look into alternative funding opportunities. This includes leveraging Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives from industries and utilizing the Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds allocated by Members of Parliament.

The Council has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with T-SAT to provide value-added education for future generations in higher education. In addition, he shared that TGCHE is actively working on forging partnerships with premier institutions such as IIT Madras and industry leaders like TCS. These collaborations are meant, to foster cutting-edge research, promote skill development, and introduce industry-driven programmes to equip students with the competencies required for emerging job markets.

The V-Cs presented and discussed their core concerns, which included critical issues like the recruitment process, the need for infrastructure development, budgetary limitations, the provision of scholarships, and mess charge dues. They highlighted how they are impacting the overall functioning and growth of their respective universities.

Later, Sridhar unveiled the inaugural edition of the TGCHE Newsletter, along with the TGCHE Chairman, Vice-Chairman-I Prof. E. Purushotham; Vice-Chairman-II Prof. SK. Mahmood; Secretary Prof. Sriram Venkatesh and the Vice-Chancellors of the state universities.

The newsletter aims to highlight the collective efforts of the State government, TGCHE, and academic institutions in driving quality education, fostering innovation, and empowering students across the state.