New Delhi: The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has hired 10 graduates from top academic institutions, including the IITs, to work as consultants for it, following the example of NITI Aayog.
These graduates, who joined the ministry last week, are from top-ranked institutes in the country, mostly technical universities, besides the IITs, and have been selected on merit.
The government’s think-tank NITI Aayog also has several young graduates working as consultants for it on different projects. The HRD ministry has followed suit and according to sources, other ministries are also likely to do the same.
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They will work for a new project — EQUIP
The graduates will be on the HRD ministry’s payroll with the designation of a ‘Young Professional’ (YP). They will work for a period of two years on a fixed salary of Rs 70,000 per month.
As of now, the YPs will be working on one particular project of the HRD ministry.
“The Young Professionals we have hired will be working on EQUIP (Education Quality Improvement Programme) for now. They are graduates who have been selected from the top NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) institutions,” a senior official in the HRD ministry told ThePrint.
EQUIP is a higher education development programme that will focus on 10 key areas — access, excellence in higher education, accreditation, employability, financing, governance, technology, internationalisation, innovation and research.
Each of the 10 YPs will be working on these 10 areas under their respective bureau heads, who will be officers in the ministry of joint secretary rank and above.
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The ministry plans to hire more people in the coming days for its autonomous bodies such as University Grants Commission and All India Council for Technical Education.
Although several ministries, including the HRD, have hired consultants in the past to work for them, this is the first time that a ministry has hired consultants to work alongside the bureaucrats.
Excellent step but knowing Indian system and Government style there is certainly a fear of corruption, nepotism and partisan selections.
Let us watch carefully before going gung ho.
कार लोन जीरो परसेंट एजुकेशन लोन 10 परसेंट ।
जरूर सोचिएगा
This is an excellent step taken. This will help to build up great eduction system pillars. I wish and I would request this to happen in every college where under graduates and graduates are reading not only from IITs and big technical institutions only. And moreover to work for a project for the development the selection must not be merit based only. It should also test the egerness and intrest one can predict out on to a project for the development because all students may not be good in their merit list but they can have a great and better ideas. And I being a graduate student from a normal management college I have a sheer intrest in the development of our education system. I eagerly wish if I could also get this opportunity as I was waiting for something such to happen and I will thank to ModiParivar not ModiSarkar.. Bcz the Sarkar is actually working as a Parivar for the development of our home our country in which we are the Parivar for this innitiative. Thank you.
Excellent step. We need dynamic and technologically savvy people in every ministry. This is great news for the country.