Since the ancient times to the modern world, the Higher Education System has always been remarkable in our country, India. The system witnessed to be grown higher in the post-independence period.

Ancient India owned world’s oldest universities like Takshashila, Nalanda, Vikramashila etc. India was undeniably the centre of learning, not only for inhabitants but also for the populace from other republics.

Maybe, many of us are not aware of the fact that India has grown so miraculously that today, we can take the pleasure of learning in the world’s third largest education system. The system is being controlled by UGC, the main governing body of tertiary education.

Many of you might acknowledge the UGC but some of us are still unaware or have a little knowledge about the organization. To help them, in this piece of writing, we will be informing all about UGC, its full form, commencement and working.

What is UGC? UGC Full Form, History and Establishment

What is UGC and what is the full form of UGC? These questions can be heard from many students who continue their educational journey to a higher level. UGC full form is ‘University Grants Commission’.

Now, let us go through the passage by which the country acquired the UGC or University Grants Commission India and know when was University Grants Commission UGC was set up.

UGC Establishment – Journey So Far!

The depiction of UGC we have today is the result of numerous intense steps taken before and after the Indian Independence. Come, let’s become a part of the establishment journey of University Grants Commission.

1. The first attempt to have an education system was made in the year 1944 with the Sargent Report. It was the Report of the Central Advisory Board of Education on Post-War Educational Development in India.

2. Through the recommendation, the University Grants Committee was formed in 1945, which took upon the responsibility of supervision of three Central Universities of Aligarh, Banaras, and Delhi.

3. In the year 1947, the committee got the responsibility to control all the universities of that era.

4. In 1948, the University Education Commission was set up, whose chairman was Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. The commission suggested that the existing University Grants Committee should be transformed into University Grants Commission India like the UK.

5. On 28 December 1953, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (former Minister of Education) inaugurated University Grants Commission.

6. And in November 1956, UGC (University Grants Commission) was formally established as a statutory body of the Government of India via ‘University Grants Commission Act, 1956’ of the Parliament. The vision was to supervise the coordination, determination, and maintenance of standards of university education in our country.

7. Thereafter In 1994 and 1995, UGC introduced six centres at Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bhopal, Guwahati and Bangalore to control the region-wise education system in India. Currently, the head office is locating at Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in New Delhi.

What are UGC Roles and Functions? Power & Main Aims of UGC

The main aim & role of UGC in higher education is to provide funds to universities and coordinate, determine & maintain the ethics in institutions of higher education. The commission upholds the interpretation among the universities, government and the community.

UGC has also set some standards for the universities for being UGC Approved Universities. With the growth of higher education in India, many top, medium, and small universities are being established day by day. Among these universities, there are many universities that are fake and not fit as per the UGC standards.

Therefore, the University Grants Commission has released the list of Fake Universities in India to help the students to recognize these rejected universities.

Major UGC Activities and Functions of University Grants Commission

Promote and coordinate university education.

Frame rules on minimum standards of education.

Setting standards for examination like ICAR NET, CBSE UGC NET & CSIR UGC NET

Scrutinize growth in the field of college and university education.

Allow grants to the universities and colleges.

Maintain connection between the Union and State Governments and institutions of higher education.

Suggest mandatory procedures to Central and State governments to make positive changes in University Education.

UGC Rules & Regulations under the University Grants Commission Act 1956

Below you can find the official PDF of the University Grants Commission Act 1956 for various UGC Rules & Regulations.

Download (PDF, 464KB)

What is Hierarchy of University Grants Commission? Organizational Structure of UGC India

The University Grants Commission follows a structural chain of command that starts from the UGC Chairman. Here, you can read the detailed analysis of UGC Members and the composition of UGC.

Below you can see the list of the members of UGC –

Chief Officials/Members of UGC India

UGC Chairman – The present UGC Chairman name is Prof. Dhirendra Pal Singh (D. P. Singh). He owns 34 years of experience in educational planning & administration, institution building, teaching & training, research & development, international cooperation etc.

He has also served as the Director of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and Vice Chancellor of three universities – Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, Dr. Hari Singh Gour University, Sagar and Devi Ahilya University, Indore.

Prior to becoming the UGC Chairman, Prof D.P Singh has also been a member of various committees to improve the depiction of the higher education system of India.

He also possesses awards like Environment Leadership Award, Environmentalist of the Decade (Poorvanchal) Award, Bharat Jyoti Award, U.P. Ratan Award, Agra University GauravShri Award, Raja Balwant Singh ShikshaSamman, Nation Builder Award etc.

UGC Vice Chairman - The post is currently vacant.

UGC Secretary - Prof. Rajnish Jain is currently serving as the Secretary & CVO (Chief Visionary Officer) of University Grants Commission. He has 30 years of professional experience in teaching, research, administration, institution building and corporate training.

He has also operated as the Director and Professor at Institute of Management Studies, Professor and Additional Director at International Institute of Professional Studies, Director at Centre for E-Business, Chairman at Board of Studies in Management, Professor In-charge at Development Section, and Dean at Student Welfare at Devi Ahilya University, Indore.

Explore the complete organizational chart of University Grants Commission here – UGC Organizational Structure.

UGC Scholarships & Awards – Complete List of UGC Fellowships

Various UGC scholarships and fellowships have been planned by the commission which provides enormous opportunities to the students who are continuously contributing to the growth of our educational system.

With the help of UGC scholarships, the students who are not financially strong but are capable to induce positive changes in the higher education system can continue their education without any financial hindrances.

You can have a glance at the list of various UGC Fellowships and UGC Scholarship that are proceeding in our country by referring UGC Scholarships and Fellowships.

UGC Research Awards & Honours

The University Grants Commission (UGC) always put steps for encouraging teaching and research. For promoting excellence in research in higher education UGC has arranged UGC Research awards and honours.

Every year many brilliant researchers and Lecturers are bestowed with UGC Awards and Honours by the commission.

The awards are –

UGC Hari Om Ashram Trust Awards

 UGC Swami Pranavananda Saraswati National Awards

 UGC National Veda Vyas Sanskrit Awards

To know about these awards in detail along with the eligibility and selection guidelines, follow UGC Research Awards 2017-18.

At this point, we are concluding the hopefulness that you have streaked all the important aspects of UGC (University Grants Commission India).

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Suggested Read: Total 38,653 UGC Approved Journals 2018 List Based on Subjects/Topics

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