Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan

Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), launched in 2013 and operates in mission mode for funding the state government universities and colleges to achieve the aims of equity, access and excellence. 

The Government has approved the scheme of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) for continuation till 31.03.2026 or till further review, whichever is earlier.

Objectives

The salient objectives of RUSA are to;

• Improve the overall quality of state institutions by ensuring conformity to prescribed norms and standards and adopt accreditation as a mandatory quality assurance framework.
• Usher transformative reforms in the state higher education system by creating a facilitating institutional structure for planning and monitoring at the state level, promoting autonomy in State Universities and improving governance in institutions.
• Ensure reforms in the affiliation, academic and examination systems.
• Ensure adequate availability of quality faculty in all higher educational institutions and ensure capacity building at all levels of employment.
• Create an enabling atmosphere in the higher educational institutions to devote themselves to research and innovations.
• Expand the institutional base by creating additional capacity in existing institutions and establishing new institutions, in order to achieve enrolment targets.
• Correct regional imbalances in access to higher education by setting up institutions in unserved & underserved areas.
• Improve equity in higher education by providing adequate opportunities of higher education to SC/STs and socially and educationally backward classes; promote inclusion of women, minorities, and differently abled persons.

Major impact and Targets

RUSA 3.0

RUSA 2.0 targets

• Increase the spending of States on higher education as a % of GSDP to 2% or above.
• Ensure all the State Institutions are NAAC Accredited by the end of March 2020 as a part of mandatory quality assurance framework.
• Reduce the student-teacher ratio to 15:1 in Institutions by the end of March 2020. Increasing the National GER to 32% by March 2022
• Ensure growth of GER with more inclusion of disadvantaged groups (SC/ST/Women); Ensure that all the States participate in AISHE and data pertaining to all State institutions is furnished.
• Ensure that the number of colleges affiliated to State Universities reduce to 200. 

RUSA 1.0

• To achieve the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) target of of 25.2% by the end of 12th Plan and 32% by the end of 13th Plan

Components

RUSA would create new universities through upgradation of existing autonomous colleges and conversion of colleges in a cluster. It would create new model degree colleges, new professional colleges and provide infrastructural support to universities and colleges. Faculty recruitment support, faculty improvements programmes and leadership development of educational administrators are also an important part of the scheme. In order to enhance skill development the existing central scheme of Polytechnics has been subsumed within RUSA. A separate component to synergise vocational education with higher education has also been included in RUSA. Besides these, RUSA also supports reforming, restructuring and building capacity of institutions in participating state.

The following are the primary components of RUSA that capture the key action and funding areas that must be pursued for the fulfilment of the targets:

• Creation of Universities by conversion of colleges in a cluster
• Creation of Universities by way of upgradation of existing autonomous colleges
• Enhancing Quality and Excellence in Autonomous colleges
• Equity initiatives
• Faculty improvements
• Faculty Recruitment Support
• Infrastructure grants to Colleges
• Infrastructure grants to Universities
• Institutional Restructuring, Capacity Building and Reforms
• New Colleges (Professional)
• New Model Colleges (General)
• Enhancing  Quality and Excellence in select State Universities
• Research, innovation and quality improvement
• Upgradation of existing degree colleges to model colleges
• Vocationalisation of Higher Education (State as a Unit)

Financial outlay

RUSA 3.0

The Government has approved the scheme of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) for continuation till 31.03.2026 or till further review, whichever is earlier. The proposal entails an expenditure of Rs. 12929.16 crore out of which Central Share is Rs. 8120.97 crores and the State Share is of Rs. 4808.19 crores. It has been envisaged to support around 1600 projects under the new phase of the scheme.

RUSA 2.0

A financial outlay of Rs 7100 crores has been earmarked for 3 years beginning 2017-18 to 2019-20. The project cost in the public funded institutions for all sub-components is shared between the Central Government and State Governments in the ratio of 90:10 for North-Eastern States, J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, 60:40 for other States and UTs with Legislature and 100:0 for UTs without Legislature.

The funding would flow from the central ministry through the state governments/union territories to the State Higher Education Councils before reaching the identified institutions. The funding to states would be made on the basis of critical appraisal of State Higher Education Plans, which would describe each state’s strategy to address issues of equity, access and excellence in higher education.

Source : Ministry of Education