New Delhi:
Students at a Chennai college spent their morning destroying college property. Their institute, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, has been blacklisted.
Students at 43 other campuses across India say that while they don't excuse the violence, they share the frustration. A committee has recommended that their colleges lose their "deemed university" status. The reason: These colleges are being run as "family fiefdoms." (
Watch: Derecognised Universities - Students share concerns)
The issue of deemed universities, and the standard of education they provide, is being heard by the Supreme Court. The government had appointed the Tandon Committee (headed by Professor P N Tandon) to investigate more than a hundred deemed universities. The committee's conclusion: Education, research, infrastructure are inadequate at most of these colleges. (
Read: What is a deemed university?)
Two lakh students at these colleges now wonder if their degrees will be invalid. "No one has been derecognised yet... the government's intention is to make sure not a single child is affected," says Kapil Sibal, Minister for Human Resources Development. What happens next is likely to be decided by the Supreme Court. The government's stand is that students at the blacklisted colleges will get degrees from the universities their colleges were originally affiliated to, before they won "deemed" status. (
Read: Centre to derecognise 44 deemed universities)
The "deemed university" tag grants autonomy to colleges that show high standards. The idea is to let them eventually qualify for university status. They're allowed to choose their syllabus, admissions structure and fees.
But the ground reality is that most institutions that qualify are medical and engineering colleges, run by politicians who use their connections to get the "deemed" label. Those same connections ensure there's little accountability. Fees are exorbitant, and seats are often sold to the highest bidder.
Hard evidence of the political link: Most of the colleges declared unfit are from defaulters the Karnataka-Maharashtra-Tamil Nadu belt, where politicians are traditionally education barons "The institutions seem to be run basically as a money-making business. Their children have all the positions like the Chancellor and the Vice Chancellor," explains Professor Yash Pal, an eminent scientist.
But officials at the colleges now in trouble say the rebuke is shocking, mainly because no objections have been raised before this. "We have had two visits from the UGC, and both times we have had positive reports," says Professor Krishnan who is the Registrar at Jain University, now blacklisted in Bangalore. (
Read: List of universities to be derecognised)