Submission of Comment on National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF)

To
The University Grants Commission

New Delhi

Dear Sir,

Please refer to your call for Comments from Academia and public at large on National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF). Enclosed find below my submission on the issue:

While the top western universities located in developed countries have been reinventing their library, information and communications professionals for engaging them in enhancing academic productivity and also for improving global visibility of their affiliated researchers' works, the Indian higher education system has not encouraged any specialization in handling changing paradigms of research communications. UGC also needs to re-look at research communication strategies in Indian universities in order to have better global visibility and possibility of having high impact global collaborations, engaging creative forces of qualified and innovative documentation and research professionals existing in the system. UGC and MHRD should stop demotivating and demoralizing academic professionals working with research departments in central universities including the Documentation Officers, Research Officers and Information Scientists. Rather, UGC should re-designate them as 'Assistant Professor (Information and Media Literacy)' under the UGC's National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF). Similar designation is already emerged in western universities in recent time. Their innovative potentials should be recognized and must be utilized for building equitable and participatory knowledge societies in the country.

Thanking you,

Yours Sincerely

Anup

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Dr. Anup Kumar Das
Centre for Studies in Science Policy
School of Social Sciences
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi - 110067, India
Web: www.anupkumardas.blogspot.com
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