Which of the following institutions were to play a role in shaping the…
2024
Which of the following institutions were to play a role in shaping the National System of Education at higher level under the National Education Policy (1986)?
A. UNESCO
B. UNDP
C. UGC
D. AICTE
E. ICAR
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer: D. C, D and E Only — Concept. The National Policy on Education (1986) proposed a National System of Education — a common educational structure for the whole country, with…
- A.
A, B and C Only
- B.
B, C and D Only
- C.
A, C and D Only
- D.
C, D and E Only
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept. The National Policy on Education (1986) proposed a National System of Education — a common educational structure for the whole country, with comparable standards at every stage. At the higher-education stage the policy built that structure out of India’s own national apex bodies: the country-level councils and commissions that plan, coordinate and set standards for one domain of Indian higher education each. The policy named these bodies, said they would be strengthened, and called for integrated planning among them. Bodies of the United Nations system work at a different level: they are inter-governmental partners that fund, advise and run joint projects with member states, but they do not plan or set standards for any domain within India’s own education system, so they sit outside that domestic architecture.
Application. Sort each listed institution by that test — is it a national apex body for a domain of Indian higher education, or an inter-governmental UN body?
Institution | Level | Domain it covers |
|---|---|---|
UNESCO | UN specialised agency (inter-governmental) | International cooperation in education, science and culture |
UNDP | UN development programme (inter-governmental) | International development funding and technical assistance |
UGC | Indian national commission, statutory under the UGC Act, 1956 | Coordination and determination of standards in university education |
AICTE | Indian national council, set up in 1945 and given statutory status by the AICTE Act, 1987 | Planning and standards of technical education |
ICAR | Indian national apex body, an autonomous society under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education | Agricultural education and research |
The three national apex bodies for domains of Indian higher education are the UGC, the AICTE and the ICAR — items C, D and E. This matches the policy text directly: the higher-education chapter of NPE 1986 names the UGC, the AICTE, the ICAR and the Indian Medical Council (with the NCTE added later for teacher education) as the bodies to be strengthened so that they can give shape to the national system at the higher level. Note that the test is which domain of Indian higher education the body is responsible for, not its legal form — the three differ there. The UGC is a statutory commission; the AICTE was still an advisory council in 1986 and became statutory a year later, partly as a result of this very policy; the ICAR is an autonomous registered society rather than a statutory regulator.
Cross-check. Remove the two UN agencies and the remaining institutions are exactly C, D and E; conversely, any set containing UNESCO or UNDP mixes an external inter-governmental agency into an architecture the policy assembles from India’s own domain bodies. India does collaborate with UNESCO and UNDP on educational programmes, but that is cooperation with the national system from outside, not a role in shaping it.
Result. The institutions named for the higher level are the UGC, the AICTE and the ICAR — C, D and E only.