Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), launched in 2013 aims at providing strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions. The central funding (in the ratio of 65:35 for general category States and 90:10 for special category states) would be norm based and outcome dependent. The funding would flow from the central ministry through the state governments/union territories to the State Higher Education Councils before reaching the identified institutions. The funding to states would be made on the basis of critical appraisal of State Higher Education Plans, which would describe each state’s strategy to address issues of equity, access and excellence in higher education.
The Salient Objectives of RUSA are to:
- Improve the overall quality of state institutions by ensuring conformity to prescribed norms and standards and adopt accreditation as a mandatory quality assurance framework.
- User transformative reforms in the state higher education system by creating a facilitating institutional structure for planning and monitoring at the state level, promoting autonomy in State Universities and improving governance in institutions.
- Ensure reforms in the affiliation, academic and examination systems.
- Ensure adequate availability of quality faculty in all higher educational institutions and ensure capacity building at all levels of employment.
- Create an enabling atmosphere in the higher educational institutions to devote themselves to research and innovations.
- Expand the institutional base by creating additional capacity in existing institutions and establishing new institutions, in order to achieve enrolment targets.
- Correct regional imbalances in access to higher education by setting up institutions in unserved & underserved areas.
- Improve equity in higher education by providing adequate opportunities of higher education to SC/STs and socially and educationally backward classes; promote inclusion of women, minorities, and differently abled persons.
Mission of RUSA :
- Provide an intelligent system of education to meet the challenges of access and equity, and work towards development of a knowledge society.
- Provide greater opportunities of access to Higher Education with equity to all the eligible persons and in particular to the vulnerable sections.
- Expand access by supporting existing institutions, establishing new institutions, supporting Non-Government Organizations/civil society to supplement public efforts aimed at removing regional or other imbalances that exist at present.
- Initiate policies and programme’s for strengthening research and innovations and encourage institutions on PPP model to engage in stretching the frontiers of knowledge.
- Promote the quality of Higher Education by investing in infrastructure and faculty, promoting academic reforms, improving governance and institutional restructuring toward the inclusion of the hitherto deprived communities.
- To develop human potential to its fullest extent so that intellectually capable and imaginatively gifted leaders can emerge.
Members of the Committee
