Kathmandu, March 15:

Formulation of a draft of the University Umbrella Act has neared completion.

The proposed act draft has stressed on the need for making University Grant Commission the apex body to decide on higher education related issues in the country.

Now the UGC is confined to providing grants to universities.

The proposed act draft has also suggested calling UGC as the Commission for Higher

Education. Professor Dr Kamal Krishna Joshi, chairman of UGC said the commission has already submitted necessary suggestions on the proposed act. The draft act is with the Education Ministry, which is now collecting suggestions from stakeholders to ensure that

no controversy erupt after it is promulgated.

“The education ministry has always concentrated more on school level education and there has been no such body that focuses on higher education, hence this proposed act clearly provides a body for this,” said Professor Joshi.

The Commission for Higher Education will provide fund, monitor and evaluate higher education in the country and the education ministry will work as a linkage rather than the executive body, the proposed act states.

It also stresses on formation of higher education assembly that would discuss and decide on the feasibility of different programmes and provide affiliation to campuses.

According to the draft, the CHE would be responsible to grant permission for operation of new university after conducting thorough study on the related issues.

Earlier, the Education Ministry used to play a key role in providing the permission to new university. Laba Prasad Tripathee, spokesperson at Education Ministry said they are taking suggestions before finalising the act draft to prevent any criticism later.

The act draft had been prepared well before Jana Andolan II but it was not sanctioned because it had proposed King as the chancellor of the Tribhuvan University and the Mahendra Sanskrit University.