New Delhi: Anticipating a huge expansion in the field of higher education, the high profile National Knowledge Commission (NKC) has suggested a slew of measures including use of vast university lands to generate resources to meet the challenge.

The expansion of country's system of higher education was not possible without enhanced levels of financing. This must necessarily come from both public and private sources, it said in a note to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently.

"Most public universities are sitting on a large reservoir of untapped resources in the form of land. It should be possible to draw up norms and parameters for universities to use their available land as a source of finance," the Commission headed by technology czar Sam Pitroda said.

Since government financing would remain the cornerstone, government support for higher education should increase to at least 1.5 per cent of GDP, out of a total of at least six per cent of GDP for education, it said.

"Even this would not suffice for the massive expansion in higher education that is an imperative," it said.

It was for universities to decide the level of fees but, as a norm, fees should meet at least 20 per cent of the total expenditure in universities, it said adding hat this should be subject to two conditions.

Needy students should be provided with a fee waiver plus scholarships to meet their costs and universities should not be penalised by the UGC for the resources raised from higher fees through matching deductions from their grants-in-aid, it said.

"Universities should also seek to tap other sources such as alumni contributions and licensing fees," it said.