UGC - Human Resource Development Centre

Pondicherry University
(A Central University)
UGC-Human Resource Development Centre
(UGC-HRDC)
R.V. Nagar, Kalapet, Puducherry-605014

Revisiting and revitalizing the system of ASCs into HRDC (with effect from 01.02.2015 under XII th plan)
Since 1986, the system of higher education has witnessed tremendous expansion and transformation. Various studies undertaken in our country and abroad have shown that any substantial increase in number of students, at university level makes impressive impact on economic growth in the decade that follows. During the XI Five Year Plan period there has been stress on expansion, equity and excellence. Planning Commission Government of India in its Approach Paper to the XII Five Year Plan has recognized Education as the single most important instrument for social and economic transformation. As of now, we have 723 universities and 35,539 colleges, with total student enrolment of nearly 29 million. Besides the GER getting doubled during the last 10 years to reach the level of 20.4%, the Govt. of India has projected GER of 30% by 2020. However, certain recent studies have highlighted a serious concern about low
percentage of employability of our students. Therefore, while continuing focus on expansion, equity and excellence in the XII plan also there is special focus on the issue of employability of students passing out from campuses of institutions of higher education.

There is now greater concern and focus on the issues of quality and inclusive education. A study by the UGC about 1471 selected colleges and 111 selected Universities revealed that 73% of the colleges and 68% of universities in our country are transacting teaching learning processes which are of medium or low quality. Since bulk of enrollment in higher education (96%) takes place in universities and colleges supported by the State Governments (7.5% enrolment in private aided & unaided institutions), an umbrella scheme of Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) has been launched to address the needs of State institutions so as to strengthen them and enhance their quality. The Scheme will also strengthen Undergraduate and Postgraduate education in Colleges.
RUSA will also address a major challenge on regional imbalances in higher education. Several reforms are being introduced in higher education to ensure meaningful quality. This includes a National Mission on Teachers and Teaching to address important issues pertaining to availability of qualified teachers with systems to support their consistent knowledge up-gradation to match the global competition and other requirements of fast growing new knowledge in various disciplines and across disciplines. The Mission also proposes to address the problem of attracting talent into teaching profession. It is also envisaged that the Mission would pursue long term goal of building a strong professional cadre of teachers by setting performance standards and creating top class institutional facilities for innovative teaching and professional development of teachers. The Mission would focus in a holistic manner dealing with the whole sector of education without fragmentation.
Since the launch of a dedicated satellite Education Satellite (EDUSAT) about 10 years ago, Technology Enabled Learning has grown fast as an integrated component of higher education. It has especially served the cause of expansion in education to less developed areas. It is proposed to be made available to all the institutions across the country. Therefore, the faculty and students have to be empowered with capabilities to harness technology for improving the quality of education. The National Knowledge Network (NKN) is in the process of connecting 26,000 Colleges, most of the Universities and Research laboratories through e-connectivity for academic transactions. National Mission of Education through ICT (NMEICT) is in the process of developing 50 DTH Channels, R&D for low cost Devices, adoption of emerging technologies and e-content for undergraduate and postgraduate level courses. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) would also be available in the near future.
The above emerging dimensions of development of education show that our country is in the process of taking big strides in education. In contemporary times our Universities cannot promote an academic life in seclusion but are required to champion reason and imagination in engagement with the wider society and its concerns. Realizing that teachers have to be in the centre stage of these developments, provisions for their motivational training and consistent exposure to innovative trends and advanced knowledge in various disciplines and across discipline, need to be revisited and reengineered in consonance with the contemporary scenario in our country. Not only the faculty but new strategies for governance of educational institutions are also needed to promote innovative, broad and dynamic collaborative models.

In line with the foregoing objectives and for achieving quality assured system for capacity building, continuous knowledge enhancement, new strategies of governance for promotion of innovations and creativity, in these guidelines are being proposed to transform the existing ASCs into two level systems in the form of a Scheme of setting up Human Resource Development Centre (HRDC) and Regional Centres for Capacity
Building (RCCB) in selected universities in the country to create new such systems commensurate with the expansion of higher education institutions by the University
Grants Commission (UGC) with following broad plan of action. a) To organize specially designed Orientation Programmes (OPs) in pedagogy, educational psychology and philosophy, and socio-economic and political concerns for all new entrants at the level of Assistant Professor; b) To organize advanced level and more discipline oriented Refresher Courses (RCs), for capacity enhancement and continuous knowledge up-gradation and exposure to emerging developments of faculty involved in teaching in institutions of higher education; c) To ensure that every teacher in higher education system of our country is exposed to an OP and a RC at least once during the first three to five years; of his/her career. d) To organize specially designed OPs/RCs to enable the faculty involved in teaching and research in institutions of higher education to utilize fast growing Information and Communication Technology support to teaching and research.

Two levels:

i. Regional Centres for Capacity Building (RCCB) with a Regional Programme Planning and Management Committee (RPPMC) for monitoring.

ii. Human Resource Development Centre (HRDC) with a Local Programme Planning and Management Committee (LPPMC) for monitoring.

Control Mechanism

In order to monitor the functioning of above two levels, there will be Programme Planning and Management Standing Committee (PPMSC) constituted at UGC level with a senior Officer of the UGC as the Coordinator and six academics nominated by the Chairman UGC for periodic review, monitor and functioning of the RCCBs and HRDCs and other related issues.

Target Groups

The following main target groups have been identified for capacity building, knowledge enhancement and similar other programmes with the objective of a holistic approach focused on transformation of our institutions of higher education to a more facilitating academic environment conducive to innovations, creativity and quality advanced learning and research.

• Faculty members in institutions of higher learning engaged in teaching and research
• Teacher Educators
• Key nonacademic functionaries in institutions of higher learning for better governance and to facilitate efficient use of various fast growing ICT resources and applications
• Research scholars

Functions of Human Resource Development Centre (HRDC)

The functions of a HRDC will be to plan, organise, implement, monitor and evaluate various programmes in collaboration with concerned RCCB on the broad guidelines suggested by Local Programme Planning and Management Committee (LPPMC). In particular, HRDCs will ensure the following
i. To actively collaborate and cooperate with RCCB so as to achieve highest standards of quality and effectiveness of programme delivery.
ii. To actively utilise online systems for interactive connectivity with the RCCB and all the HRDCs for fast and effective functional operations and content delivery as detailed under 2 a)-i above
iii. To contribute and share the repository of experts maintained by RCCB for conduction of programmes in HRDCs
iv. To contribute and share multimedia repository of RCCB and other sources as indicated of some of the best content delivered in the at HRDC
v. To set up a documentation-IT enabled centre-cum-library for reference and source materials necessary for the programmes.
vi. To communicate and manage display of advisories to the participants in advance giving the theme, focus and other details about the programmes
vii. To actively cooperate with RCCB in maintenance of an information portal giving all details about programmes planned in the region with names and brief CVs of resource persons and preferably full text or at least ppts with abstract and references of the content proposed to be delivered.
viii. To analyse feedback from participants on programme delivered in the HRDC for consistent review for quality enhancement and communicating the same online to RCCB within 15 days from completion of a programme.

Structure of HRDCs (Staffing norms/patterns) (With effect from 1st February 2015)
Plan Period Possition under XII th Paln

(a) Academic Staff
1. Director (in the pay scale of Professor): 1
2. Deputy Director (in the pay scale of Deputy Director (Physical Edn) : 1
3. Assistant Director (in the pay scale of Assistant Director (Physical Edn): 1
(Existing Cedars of Lecturer and Reader are not available in the HRDC under XII th Plan)
(b) Non-teaching staff:
1. Technical Officer: 1(ICT applications, maintenance and training).
2. Section Officer: 1
3. Senior Assistant: 1
4. Computer Assistant/Junior Assistant : 1
5. Librarian or Technician: 1
6. Steno-typist/Computer Operator: 1
7. Peon: 1
8. Hostel Attendant: 1 (in case of those HRDCs that have independent Accommodation/hostel facilities).

UGC – HRDC, Pondicherry University
The UGC- Academic Staff College of Pondicherry University was established in 1987 (HRDC) and it is situated at Pondicherry University campus, Kalapet, Puducherry, India. It is situated 160 kms away from Chennai on the east coast road. It is 15 Kms away from the Puducherry main bus stand and Puducherry railway station.
It is a inter university institute catering to the needs of all college and University teachers to achieve goals of higher education and keep abreast of the latest developments in their specific subjects.

UGC - HRDC  Building