Private varsities 'commercialised' education in HP: Minister

In a veiled attack on the previous BJP regime, the Himachal Pradesh government today said that the mushrooming of private universities during the past five years has led to "commercialisation" of education in the state.
"The private universities have started selling university courses like commodity and their marketing network has reached even at the Panchayat level to allure students to join their institutions," state Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri told reporters here.
The marketing strategies practised by these universities are "detrimental" to the interests of both the students and the education system, Agnihotri claimed.
Agnihotri, who was the chief guest on the second day of Foundation Day celebrations of Himachal University here, stressed the need for quality higher education so that the pass outs were employable and stand in global competition.

Accusing the private universities of introducing several new courses with hardly any job potential, the minister said that after completing these courses the students find them in a lurch.