A proposed overarching body in higher education may not look into funding of colleges and universities but purely concentrate on regulating institutions and framing policies for them.

Delinking funding of colleges and universities from regulating the institutions, a task force on a crucial bill for setting up of an National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) today favoured creation of an independent funding agency.

Bringing changes to the draft bill on NCHER, the task force decided that the commission should only concentrate on regulating the institutions and framing policies for them. It should not be involved in providing funds to institutions as specified in the earlier draft bill, official sources said.

The task force, which conducted nationwide consultations on the issue, today met here to complete the final drafting of the bill.

The government will hold the meeting of Central Advisory Board of Education, the highest advisory body on education matters, on June 18 and 19 to discuss NCHER bill.

The task force members felt that service delivery should be separated from policy making. The task force resolved that the funding agency would be created as a separate entity.

It will prepare annual funding support plan for colleges and universities and establish norms for block grants.

The funding agency will also set criteria for grants to support and supplement research in higher education.

The draft bill had entrusted these responsibilities to the NCHER which would replace the existing regulatory bodies like University Grants Commission, All India Council of Technical Education and National Council for Teachers' Education.

The funding agency will function as an inter-university centre and allocate and release funds to institutions, the sources said

The task force has also considered the concerns raised by certain states, including Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, to a few key clauses which they viewed as violation of "federal principles".

Among the provisions opposed by these states in the NCHER bill include the ones like a new university should get authorisation from NCHER before operation and vice chancellors should be appointed from a national registry.

The draft bill says NCHER will maintain a national registry with names of eligible persons for the post of vice chancellors. In case of vacancy, the NCHER will suggest five names from the registry for the post.

There will be a collegium which will aid, advise and make recommendations to the Commission for coordination, maintenance of standards in and promotion of higher education and research, the draft bill says.

The collegium shall recommend names of eligible persons for inclusion in the national registry of prospective vice chancellors to be maintained by the NCHER.

In view of objections raised by states, the task force has now said that the condition of appointment from registry would be mandatory for the central universities.

The state universities will be free to appoint vice chancellors as per their regulations. But the NCHER collegium will scrutinise the appointment and give its observations which may reflect on quality of person selected for the job.

States had also objected to the provision in the draft bill that the proposed NCHER will specify norms and standards for grant of authorisation to a new university or a higher educational institution to commence its academic operations.

States had viewed that this provision would erode their power to start institutions. But the task force felt the need of such provision to ensure quality. It did not change this provision.

The task force members referred to the Supreme Court judgement in the case of Yashpal & Others verses State of Chhattisgarh & Others in which the court said the central law or regulation of an agency created under a central law will be final and binding on education matters.

The NCHER will enjoy the power of a civil court. The government wants to finalise the bill and introduce it in Parliament in the monsoon session.