Context: Recently, Union government and the education regulator have identified five key areas of focus in the next phase of reforms in the higher education sector. 

• These areas, education finance, administration, accounting system, a central higher education data repository, and internal autonomy, will act as catalysts to reduce compliance burden in the sector and instil self-discipline.
• The University Grants Commission (UGC) and the education ministry believe that there is a need to streamline the compliance system, reduce unwanted interference, and involve institutions to find solutions to these five key areas of concern.

These five key areas of concern

• Education Finance: The government will encourage universities to raise money from the market through collaborations, industry projects and sponsored projects.
• Administration: Universities should promote simplification of methods in administration and finance.
• Accounting system reforms
• Central Higher Education Data Repository: UGC to establish a centralised database for pooling of data regarding Higher Educational Institutes(HEIs)
• Internal Autonomy within the institutions.

Other Focus Areas

• Accessibility to internet facilities in rural areas: This is an issue that was exposed during the pandemic as schools and colleges closed their campuses to curb the spread of the virus. This move severely impacted education delivery, more so outside cities.

Significance of these reforms

• India has a massive higher education sector with nearly 51,000 colleges, institutions, and universities catering to almost 38 million students.
• However, the education ministry has always been criticised for over-regulation. Hence, these reforms are being initiated to ease the traditional burden and move on a path of reform.