Telangana State varsities in a fix over HEFA funding

 Hyderabad: The Centre has yet again put the state universities in a fix with its recently constituted Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA). The HEFA is allowing applications to extend loans for capital expenditure projects and research and development infrastructure from only Central institutions and universities.

According to sources in the State Council for Higher Education (TSCHE), State universities under the University Grants Commission (UGC) have been facing acute shortage of funding in taking up research and development on par with their counterparts like Central universities and National Institute of Technology’s (NITs) and other similar institutions under the MHRD.

However, the flow of funds both from the Central and State remained meagre and even showed a decrease over the years. It was against this backdrop that MHRD had proposed setting up the Higher Education Empowerment Regulation Agency (HEERA). The new entity had been proposed to combine UGC and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to avoid multiple agencies in regulating the Higher Educational Institutions and to ensure optimum utilisation of resources in improving the standards of higher education.

But, following the differences on HEERA voiced by several State governments (including Telangana and Andhra Pradesh), the MHRD floated the HEFA to provide funds in the form of loans to finance the capital expenditure projects and research and development infrastructure.

Speaking to The Hans India, a senior official from the TSCHE said that due to the differences over HEERA, State universities lost an opportunity, while the Central Higher Educational Institutions (CHEIs) benefitted in the form of HEFA. "Only three institutions each from TS and AP will be in a position to avail funding from the HEFA.

They are, IITs at Hyderabad and Tirupathi, NIT at Warangal and Tadepalligudem, IIIT-Hyderabad and the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER), Tirupathi," he added. The HEFA had been started with an ambitious plan of mop-up about Rs 1 lakh crore funds to support the HEIs to take up research and development beyond the budgetary allocations. Thus, ensuring that the R&D and innovation are not suffered due to lack of funding. In turn, all this was to transform the top-ranked HEIs in the country into global institutions.