Withdraw Jain University's 'deemed-to-be' tag, Karnataka govt asks Centre

In a big punitive action, the state government has recommended to the Union Ministry of Education the withdrawal of the ‘Deemed-to-be University’ status held by the Bengaluru-headquartered Jain University for “apparent maladministration and mismanagement”.

Counted among Karnataka’s well-known educational brands, Jain University was formerly Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College. It became a ‘Deemed-to-be University’ in December 2008.

The government’s recommendation is in connection with a ‘Mad Ads’ skit performed by the university’s Centre for Management Studies students in February this year that ran into trouble for “derogatory” and “contemptuous” references to Constitution architect BR Ambedkar, untouchability, inequality, caste and reservation.

The viral video of the performance resulted in police complaints in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Police arrested nine people, including seven students and two faculty members. They were later released on bail. Last month, the High Court of Karnataka granted an interim stay on the proceedings against all nine.

“The apparent maladministration and mismanagement of the university has constrained the state government to invoke coercive measures against that university,” the higher education department wrote in an August 8 letter to the Union Ministry of Education, which DH has accessed. 

The government has asked the ministry to withdraw the notification declaring Jain University as an institution deemed-to-be university “at the earliest”.

When contacted, a Jain University spokesperson said, “We are not aware. We’ve not been put on notice about any such communication.”

The skit performed by the university’s students “caused unrest in the society and hurt sentiments of the public”, the government stated.

“The state government considered the incident seriously and caused inspection thereof and obtained the report. From the report, it became evident that the management of the university was well aware of the script, content and dialogues... In spite of that, the management of the university did not prevent the students from performing the said skit,” the letter explained.

“However, insincere efforts were made by the university by rusticating all the students who partook in the skit. The irresponsible attitude of the university deserves strong condemnation and attracts stringent action,” the letter stated.

The ‘deemed-to-be’ tag grants institutions the academic status and privileges of a university. They can design their own syllabus and courses.

There are 125 ‘deemed-to-be’ universities in India, 14 in Karnataka. If Jain University loses the ‘deemed’ tag, it could return to its previous avatar.

The varsity hosted the Union government-backed Khelo India University Games 2021.