Review of deemed-to-be varsities' on the cards

Taking the decision in the wake of the controversy over exorbitant capitation fees charged by a medical college in Tamil Nadu allegedly run by Union Minister S Jagathrakshakan, the HRD Minister also directed the UGC to keep in abeyance all pending proposals till a thorough review of the functioning of the existing such institutions was undertaken.

The much-controversial deemed-to-be universities mushroomed across the country during the tenure of Arjun Singh with the critics saying that approval was given indiscriminately to new institutions without considering faculty and infrastructure of such institutes.

Karnataka has 18 such deemed-to-be-universities including the prestigious Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

The UGC has been asked to submit their report within three months and thoroughly probe the lacunae in the infrastructure, faculty, admission process, fee structure and academic standard of such institutions.

The review would also cover the sanctity of the admission process for enrolment of students, the ministry sources said.

There are at present 125 deemed-to-be-universities across the country.

These institutes have drawn flak from prominent academic bodies like the National Knowledge Commission and Yashpal Committee due to non-transparent admission procedure, exorbitant fees, poor infrastructure and not-so-competent faculty in some of the deemed universities. They even went on to  recommend that the whole ‘deemed university’ concept be scrapped.

The HRD Ministry also decided to serve a notice to Bharat University of which Shree Balaji Medical College in Tamil Nadu is a constituent. The college is said to be owned by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting. The notice  seeks to know why the deemed university status shall not be withdrawn and other appropriate action not initiated against the college. The Ministry would also serve a notice to Sri Ramachandra University, Tamil Nadu on the same issue, according to sources.

The Ministry's action followed media reports that officials of Shree Balaji Medical College and Sri Ramachandra University allegedly demanded capitation fees in the range of Rs 12-20 lakh, a charge denied by Jagathrakshakan.