UGC plans curbs on admissions, fees in deemed universities

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has set up a committee to look into the matter of regulating the fees and admissions in the 125 deemed universities. The commission, according to its Chairman Professor Sukhdeo Thorat, gets the maximum complaints in these two areas.

On the admissions’ front, Thorat says these universities could be part of the common and national tests (such as CAT) and take students who clear these tests. This will ensure transparency and quality in the admissions process. For the fee structure, there could be a state or a national level committee. The UGC’s committee will soon give its recommendations on the above mentioned issues.

 

The UGC is already under a cloud for “irregularities” in deemed universities. In fact, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has frozen all new applications for universities seeking a deemed status. “On the issue of private universities seeking deemed status, we believe they should be allowed to do so but through a different transparent framework. This means they can’t admit students without having an institution ready,” says Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal who has directed the UGC to review the functioning of all the ‘deemed-to-be-universities’ and report the deficiencies within the next three months.

Sibal who reviewed the process of declaring an institution as a “deemed-to-be- university” under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956, expects that the report should be with respect to maintenance of standards especially with regard to the availability of the qualified faculty and the infrastructure in the ‘deemed-to-be-universities’ as well as the sanctity of the admission process for enrolment of students.

Of the 125 deemed universities, 33 are government varsities and the rest are private. UGC gives grants to these government universities while the private ones are self-financing universities. The commission says it is the self-financing private universities that have increased and aspire to be deemed universities. So, the UGC has to consider their applications, else it can be taken to court.

Meanwhile, the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) and Yashpal Committee have called for doing away with the deemed university system and regulartory bodies like the UGC and AICTE. These recommendations, say sources close to the development, will find favour with the government. The modalities are being worked out.