Higher education sector is set for a makeover as the 

Modi

government PLANS to implement a slew of measures such as qualifying exam for PhDs to be of the standard of NET exam, mandatory use of credible anti-plagiarism software for evaluating PhDs, assessment and accreditation of higher education institutions by third party agencies and granting full autonomy-- academic, financial and administrative -- to top-ranked institutions.


The measures are part of higher education reforms package, which was finalised by a high-powered PANEL, including then Niti Aayog vice-chairman 

Arvind Panagariya

, CEO 

Amitabh Kant

 and 

K K SHARMA

, secretary higher education, HRD ministry.


The panel, which submitted its REPORT on August 31 was asked by Prime Minister 

Narendra Modi

 to prepare a blueprint for higher education reform.


Learning from past experiences, the committee has decided to set in motion short-term measures which can be implemented through regulations by UGC and AICTE within a timeframe while leaving it to HRD ministry to come out with a roadmap for big bang reforms, including setting up of higher education regulator which requires legislative amendments.


Academic collaborations will be PERMITTED only with foreign institutions that are ranked among the top 500 of world institutions.