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EDUCATION
Doomed Fate For Deemed Universities?
The Yash Pal committee is likely to recommend an end to the system
SHALINI S. SHARMA
27 Feb 2009
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New Status: Applications for the deemed
university status has shot up
(Pic by Tribhuwan Sharma) |
Since last year, there has been a mad rush of private colleges trying to get the status of deemed universities from the ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD). While in 2006 only 30 proposals were submitted for the purpose, the number rose to 56 in 2007 and shot up to 76 in 2008. Reason: the Yash Pal committee, set up by the Prime Minister, is likely to recommend an end to this system in its report, which will be submitted to the HRD ministry and to the Prime Minister’s Office in March.
Also, once the dates for the Lok Sabha elections are announced, there will be no clearances till the next government comes to power. If the proposal of the committee is accepted, it would mean no more issuances of deemed university status after December 2009. The recommendation for such a status, which gives the institutes freedom to design courses, make changes in the curriculum and decide the intake of students, comes from the University Grants Commission (UGC). According to UGC sources, there were as many as 214 colleges waiting to get the deemed university status as on 31 December 2008. Some applications pending since 2000. While many apply for the status, only a handful with the right connections and money power manage to get it. From January 2008 till date, 32 clearances have been given, while only 14 were given in 2007 and even less in 2006. The latest two notifications were issued on 20 February, one in favour of the Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh, and the other for the inclusion of seven institutions under the ambit of KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research in Belgaum.
The highest number of applications with UGC are from Tamil Nadu (36), followed by from Andhra Pradesh (26) and Maharashtra (22). This, at a time when the chorus against the system itself is getting louder. Uttar Pradesh Governor T.V. Rajeshwar recently reportedly termed the growing number of deemed universities in Tamil Nadu as a “worrying factor”.
Under Section 3 of the UGC Act, the provision for deemed university status was made to bring under the commission’s purview institutions “which for historical reasons or for any other circumstances are not universities and yet are doing work of a high standard”. Despite such a lofty purpose, the system has degenerated into a money-making proposition for all the stake-holders involved. In a letter dated 19 May 2008, UGC Secretary R.K. Chauhan had written to the vice-chancellors of 103 deemed universities “it has been observed… some of the deemed to be universities are not functioning as per well-defined objectives and norms…”
According to A.M. Sherry, dean of the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad, the basic idea behind the system is noble — promoting education in backward areas, specially for girls. “Some institutes are indeed doing good work, but it is largely being misused now.” The solution lies in stricter monitoring and implementation of rules, Sherry says.
However, Lavu Rathaiah, chairman of Andhra Pradesh-based Vignan Foundation, which got the deemed university status three months ago, feels that the status “helps in revitalisation of the course structure and also enables the formulation of a better evaluation process to reflect the overall personality of a student”. Such cases are more an exception than the rule though. As per reports, one of the 27 high-profile members of the Yash Pal committee, too, had rued recently that the deemed university system had become exploitative and that the institutions were charging high fees but had not been successful in providing quality education.
While the recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission set up by the Prime Minister have all been rejected by the HRD ministry, it would be interesting to see what fate befalls the Yash Pal committee recommendations.
(Businessworld Issue Dated 03-09 March 2009)
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