Conventional MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Conventional - Download Free PDF

The correct answer is Dr. Vineet Joshi.

Key Points

• Dr. Vineet Joshi has been appointed as the acting chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) following the retirement of Professor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar on April 7, 2025.
• He is currently serving in this role in addition to his position as the Secretary of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India. 

The correct answer is - (B), (C), (D) Only

Key Points

• Universities empowered to confer the honorary degree of LL.D. in 1884
  • The University of Calcutta, University of Bombay, and University of Madras were among the universities granted the power to confer this honorary degree.
  • These universities were part of the earliest established universities during British rule in India and held significant academic authority.

Additional Information

• Historical Context of Indian Universities
  • The universities of Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras were established in 1857, making them some of the oldest modern universities in India.
  • These universities were modeled after the University of London and aimed to provide higher education and promote advanced learning and research.
  • They played a crucial role in the educational development of India during the colonial period and beyond.
• Honorary Degrees
  • An honorary degree is a degree awarded to an individual without the usual requirements, such as matriculation, attendance, course credits, and examinations.
  • These degrees are often awarded to acknowledge an individual's contributions to a specific field or to society in general.
  • The degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is typically conferred to individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of law or public service.

The correct answer is - (B), (A), (E), (C), (D)

Key Points

• Patna University (B)
  • Established in 1917, it is one of the oldest universities in India.
• Osmania University (A)
  • Founded in 1918, Osmania University is based in Hyderabad.
• University of Rangoon (E)
  • Established in 1920, it is now known as the University of Yangon in Myanmar.
• Lucknow University (C)
  • Founded in 1921, it is a major public university in Uttar Pradesh, India.
• Annamalai University (D)
  • Established in 1929, it is located in Tamil Nadu, India.

Additional Information

• Historical Context
  • Many universities in India were established in the early 20th century as part of the colonial educational reforms and the growing demand for higher education.
  • These institutions played a crucial role in the education and empowerment of the Indian population during the British rule.
• Contribution to Education
  • Each of these universities has made significant contributions to various fields of study and research.
  • They have also been instrumental in producing notable alumni who have contributed to society in various capacities.

The correct answer is - D, E, B, C, A

Key Points

• Calcutta University
  • Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest universities in India.
• Punjab University
  • Initially established in 1882 in Lahore (now in Pakistan), it was relocated to Chandigarh, India, after partition in 1947.
• Allahabad University
  • Founded in 1887, it is one of the oldest modern universities in India.
• Patna University
  • Established in 1917, it is the first university in the state of Bihar.
• SNDT Women's University
  • Founded in 1916 by Maharshi Dr. Dhondo Keshav Karve, it is the first women's university in India.

Additional Information

• Calcutta University
  • Also known as the University of Calcutta, it was the first institution in Asia to be established as a multidisciplinary and secular Western-style university.
• Punjab University
  • After the partition of India, Punjab University was split into two: one part remained in Pakistan, and the other was re-established in Chandigarh, India.
• Allahabad University
  • Known as the "Oxford of the East," it has a rich history and was once considered among the top universities in India.
• Patna University
  • It has a significant role in the educational history of Bihar and has produced many notable alumni.
• SNDT Women's University
  • It is dedicated to the empowerment of women through education and has campuses in Mumbai, Pune, and other locations.

The correct answer is - E, A, C, B, D

Key Points

• University Education Commission (E)
  • Established in 1948 under the chairmanship of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan.
  • Focused on the improvement of university education in India.
• Secondary Education Commission (A)
  • Established in 1952 under the chairmanship of Dr. A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar.
  • Aimed to reorganize and improve secondary education in India.
• Establishment of UGC (C)
  • The University Grants Commission (UGC) was established in 1953.
  • Responsible for coordinating, determining, and maintaining standards of university education in India.
• Kothari Education Commission (B)
  • Established in 1964 and the report was submitted in 1966 under the chairmanship of Dr. D. S. Kothari.
  • Focused on the comprehensive education system in India.
• Chattopadhyay Commission (D)

  • The Chattopadhyay Commission (1983), also known as the National Commission on Teachers-I, was established in India to address the challenges faced by teachers and to improve teacher education.

  • Aimed to recommend reforms to make India a knowledge superpower.

Additional Information

• University Education Commission
  • Suggested the establishment of the UGC to oversee university education.
  • Recommended a three-year degree course and a two-year pre-university course.
• Secondary Education Commission
  • Recommended diversified courses to cater to various interests and aptitudes of students.
  • Suggested the introduction of multi-purpose schools.
• Kothari Education Commission
  • Recommended a common school system to provide equal opportunities to all children.
  • Emphasized the need for a national policy on education.
• Chattopadhyay Commission
  • Focused on the use of technology in education and improving the quality of higher education.
  • Recommended the establishment of 1500 universities by 2015 to cater to the growing demand for higher education.

​National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE)​:

• The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) as a statutory body came into existence in pursuance of the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 on the 17th August 1995.
• The main objective of the NCTE is to achieve planned and coordinated development of the teacher education system throughout the country, the regulation and proper maintenance of Norms and Standards in the teacher education system and for matters connected therewith. 
• It covers the whole gamut of teacher education programs including research and training of persons for equipping them to teach at pre-primary, primary, secondary, and senior secondary stages in schools, and non-formal education, part-time education, adult education, and distance (correspondence) education courses.

Hence, NCTE is responsible for the quality of teacher education in India.

The administrative and Academic Reform Committee of the UGC recommended the choice-based credit system in higher education.

The choice-based credit system in higher education:

• This system provides choice for students to select from the prescribed courses (core, elective or minor, or soft skill courses)
• It is a learner-centric approach
• Here credit is just a unit to measure the coursework 
• The University Grants Commission (UGC) has initiated several measures to bring equity, efficiency, and excellence to the Higher Education System of country
• That includes innovation and improvements in curriculum, teaching-learning process, examination and evaluation systems, besides governance and other matters.
• There are three types of credit courses,
  1. Core course
  2. Elective course
  3. Foundation course

• Semester: A set of 15-18 weeks of academic work equivalent to 90 actual teaching days.
• Credit Point: It is the product of grade point and the number of credits for a course.
• Credit: A unit by which the course work is measured. It determines the number of hours of instruction required per week. One credit is equivalent to one hour of teaching (lecture or tutorial) or two hours of practical work/field work per week.
• Grade Point: It is a numerical weight allotted to each letter grade on a 10-point scale
• Letter Grade: It is an index of the performance of students in a said course. Grades are denoted by letters O, A+, A, B+, B, C, P, and F.

• Justice Verma Commission on Teacher Education, 1966: quality enhancement of teacher education 
• Ramamurti Committee on Higher Education,1986: NEP review committee under the chairmanship of Achariya Ramamurti.
• Chattopadhyay Committee on Teacher Education, (1983-85), teachers education and training.

The NATIONAL ASSESSMENT AND ACCREDITATION COUNCIL (NAAC) conducts assessment and accreditation of Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) such as colleges, universities, or other recognized institutions to derive an understanding of the 'Quality Status' of the institution.

Important Points

NAAC has categorized the Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) into three major types:

• (University, Autonomous College, and Affiliated/Constituent College) 

1. Universities (Central / State / Private / Deemed-to-be) and Institutions of National Importance
2. Autonomous colleges /Constituent Colleges / Affiliated Colleges (affiliated to universities recognized by UGC as an affiliating University)
3. Accredited HEIs applying for Reassessment or Subsequent Cycles of Accreditation.

The NAAC has identified a set of seven criteria to serve as the basis of its assessment procedures for the three types of HEIs are:

• Curricular Aspects
• Teaching-learning & Evaluation
• Research, Innovations & Extension
• Infrastructure & Learning Resources
• Student Support & Progression
• Governance, Leadership & Management
• Institutional Values & Best Practices.​

Hence, we may say the criteria for the assessment of higher education institutions as laid down by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) includes:

(A) Curricular aspects

(B) Teaching-learning and Evaluation

(D) Research, innovation and extension

Organizations and bodies defined by a formal law or a statute are called statutory.

Key Points

These are government-created bodies that an Act of Parliament shapes.

Therefore, A and C is the correct option. 

Confusion Points 

The educational system in India has seen major transformations from the ancient to the present.

Conventional System:

• It refers to conventional teaching ad learning within a brick-and-mortar classroom facility, also known as traditional education.

• In the conventional system, students and teachers meet face to face within the four walls of the classroom and the students depend on the teachers as the chief source of knowledge.
• This system in India is based on the ‘Gurukul’ tradition and student’s learning is from the teacher rather than books or instructional materials.
• The conventional system is a teacher-centered one, wherein the teacher or the teacher-dominant system prescribes not only the contents of study but even its mode and duration.
• It doesn’t give priority to cater to a diverse learner populations or developing critical thinking but instead directs learners to assume a non-thinking and information-receiving role.
• Assessment in this traditional method of teaching happens only through examination, unlike the modern methods where assessment is embedded in the teaching and learning process.

Association of Indian Universities

• It is the nodal agency for granting Academic equivalence to the degrees awarded by the accredited foreign Universities/ institutions for purpose of admission to higher courses. 
• Association of Indian Universities is an organisation and association of major universities in India.
• It evaluates the courses, syllabi, standards, and credits of foreign Universities pursued abroad and equates them in relation to various courses offered by Indian Universities.
• The Inter-University Board acquired a legal status with its registration as a Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, on September 29, 1967, and was renamed as Association of  Indian  Universities  (AIU) in 1973. 
• Since its inception, AIU  is actively engaged in the growth and development of  Higher Education. ​

Equivalence is granted to students if he/she meets the following eligibility conditions:

1. The degree has been awarded by a university which is duly approved/recognised/accredited in its own country;
2. The student has pursued the programme of studies as a full-time regular student on the campus of the university in the foreign country
3. The minimum eligibility qualification for admission to the programme of the study is at least the same as prescribed in India; and
4. The duration of the programme of study is at least the same as prescribed in India.

UGC-

• It is a statutory organization established by an Act of Parliament in 1956 for the coordination, determination, and maintenance of standards of university education. 
• Apart from providing grants to eligible universities and colleges, the Commission also advises the Central and State Governments on the measures which are necessary for the development of Higher Education.

Niti Aayog- 

• The National Institution for Transforming India was formed via a resolution of the Union Cabinet on January 1, 2015.
• NITI Aayog is the premier policy ‘Think Tank’ of the Government of India, providing both directional and policy inputs.
• While designing strategic and long term policies and programmes for the Government of India, NITI Aayog also provides relevant technical advice to the Centre and States.
• The Governing Council of NITI, with The Prime Minister as its Chairman, comprises Chief Ministers of all States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories (UTs).

ICSSR-

• Indian Council of Social Science Research was established in the year 1969 by the Government of India to promote research in social sciences in the country.
• It provides grants for projects, fellowships, international collaboration, capacity building, survey, publications etc. to promote research in social sciences in India.

Hence, AIU is a nodal agency for granting equivalence to degrees awarded by foreign universities.

Key Points  All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE):

• It governs technical education in India.
• It was set up in 1945 as an advisory body and later on, in 1987, was given statutory status by an act of Parliament.
• AICTE grants approval for starting new technical institutions, for the introduction of new courses, and for variation in intake capacity in technical institutions.
• The AICTE is headquartered in New Delhi and has seven regional offices located at Kolkata, Chennai, Kanpur, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Bhopal and Bangalore.
• A new regional office at Hyderabad has been set up and is yet to be operational.
• The council discharges its functions through an executive committee.
• It is responsible for the maintenance of standards of technical education, which currently includes education research and training in the following fields:
  • Engineering
  • Technology including MCA
  • Architecture
  • Town planning
  • Management
  • Pharmacy
  • Hotel management and catering technology
  • Applied arts and crafts

Confusion Points

Distance education:

• The Distance Education Bureau (DEB) is a bureau of the University Grants Commission (UGC).
• It is based in New Delhi, India, in charge of regulating distance education in India.
• It was established in 2012, replacing the Distance Education Council (DEC), an organization responsible for open education and distance education since 1985.

Thus, allocation of grants for the planned and coordinated development of technical education is not the work of AICTE.

The Department of Higher Education is responsible for the overall development of the basic infrastructure of the Higher Education sector, both in terms of policy and planning. Under a planned development process, the Department looks after expansion of access and qualitative improvement in Higher Education, through world-class Universities, Colleges, and other Institutions.

A number of apex level bodies have been set up to promote and regulate the development of education. 

1. University Grants Commission:

• The University Grants Commission (UGC) acts as the overarching regulatory body. 
• The establishment of the University Grants Commission in India, on the pattern of the British UGC, was recommended by the University Education Commission in 1949. 
• The major functions of the Commission are Promotion and coordination of university education; determination and maintenance of standards of teaching, examination, and research; allocation and disbursement of grants to the universities from the funds given to it by the central government; advising universities on measures for improving university education; advising central and state governments on matters relating to university education.

2. All India Council for Technical Education: 

• The AICTE Act was constituted to provide for the establishment of an All India Council for Technical Education with a view to proper planning and co-ordinated development of a technical education system throughout the country, the promotion of qualitative improvements of such education in relation to planned quantitative growth, and regulation & proper maintenance of norms and standards in the technical education system and for the matters connected therewith. 
• The purview of AICTE (the Council) covers programs of technical education including training and research in Engineering, Technology, Architecture, Town Planning, Management, Pharmacy, Applied Arts and Crafts, Hotel Management and Catering Technology, etc. at different levels.

3. Distance Education Council:

• The Distant Education Bureau (DEB) is a bureau of the University Grants Commission (UGC) based in New Delhi, India, in charge of regulating and managing distance education in India.
•  It was established in 2012, replacing the Distance Education Council (DEC), an organization that was responsible for open learning and distance education since 1985.

Thus, option 1 is the correct answer.

NUEPA:

•  The National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA), established by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, is a premier organization dealing with capacity building and research in planning and management of education not only in India but also in South Asia.
• It is not a regulatory body. It is a Deemed To Be University.

ICSSR: 

• Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) was established in the year 1969 by the Government of India to promote research in social sciences in the country. ICSSR provide grants for projects, fellowships, international collaboration, capacity building, survey, publications, etc. to promote research in social sciences in India. It is not a regulatory body.
• It is the national body overseeing research in the social sciences in India.

Statutory requirements derive from legislation that has been enacted into law. 

Regulatory requirements derive from regulations, which have been put in place by government agencies.

The word “Shodh” originates from Sanskrit and stands for “research and discovery”. “Gangotri” is one of the largest glaciers in the Himalayas and source of origination of Ganges, the holiest, longest and largest of rivers in India. The Ganges is the symbol of age-long culture, civilization, ever-ageing, ever-flowing, ever-loving and loved by its people.

Under the initiative called “ShodhGangotri”, research scholars/research supervisors in universities are requested to deposit an electronic version of approved synopsis submitted by research scholars to the universities for registering themselves for the Ph.D programme. Now it is expanded to MRPs/PDFs/ Emeritus Fellowship etc. The repository on one hand, would reveal the trends and directions of research being conducted in Indian universities, on the other hand, it would avoid duplication of research. Synopsis in “ShodhGangotri” would later be mapped to full-text theses in "ShodhGanga". As such, once the full-text thesis is submitted for a synopsis, a link to the full-text theses would be provided from ShodhGangotri to "ShodhGanga".

Shodhganga: a reservoir of Indian Theses

• Theses and dissertations are known to be the rich and unique source of information, often the only source of research work that does not find its way into various publication channels. Theses and dissertations remain an untapped and under-utilized asset, leading to unnecessary duplication and repetition that, in effect, is the anti-theses of research and wastage of huge resources, both human and financial.
• The UGC Notification (Minimum Standards & Procedure for Award of M.Phil. / Ph.D Degree, Regulation, 2009) dated 1st June 2009 mandates submission of an electronic version of theses and dissertations by the researchers in universities with an aim to facilitate open access to Indian theses and dissertations to the academic community worldwide.
• Online availability of electronic theses through centrally-maintained digital repositories, not only ensure easy access and archiving of Indian doctoral theses but will also help in raising the standard and quality of research. This would overcome the serious problem of duplication of research and poor quality resulting from the "poor visibility" and the "unseen" factor in research output.
• As per the Regulation, the responsibility of hosting, maintaining and making the digital repository of Indian Electronic Theses and Dissertations (called "Shodhganga"), accessible to all institutions and universities, is assigned to the INFLIBNET Centre.

"Shodhganga" is the name coined to denote digital repository of Indian Electronic Theses and Dissertations set-up by the INFLIBNET Centre.

The establishment of a University Grants Commission in India is on the pattern of the British UGC. It was recommended by the University Education Commission in 1949. The need for establishing a UGC was expressed by the commission in the following terms:

• A commission for allocating grants to universities from the Centre is fundamental to the improvement and development of universities in India; such a body should consist of experts and representatives of the government.
• The political decisions on policy and resource allocation required for their execution, experts who have the knowledge and experience; it should be the responsibility of such a body to create and develop facilities for advanced research in the universities;
• There is a need for coordination of facilities, in special fields since it may not be feasible to provide all facilities in all universities;
• There should be a constant liaison between universities and national research laboratories;
• Such a body would be able to recommend policies to be adopted by the central government from time to time; and
• It should be the responsibility of such a body to ensure the minimum standards of efficient administration, research, and teaching in the universities. 

A University Grants Commission was established in 1956 under an Act of Parliament. The Commission consists of a full-time Chairman and a full-time Vice-Chairman, and ten other members. The major functions of the Commission are:

• Promotion and coordination of university education; 
• Determination and maintenance of standards of teaching, examinations, and research;
• Allocation and disbursement of grants to the universities from the funds given to it by the Central Government;
• Advising universities on measures for improving university education;
• Advising Central and State governments on matters relating to university education.

​Hence the statutory function of the UGC is to determine and maintain the standard of teaching and research in universities.