New Delhi, October 18: A high-level committee, appointed by the government to review the functioning of the deemed universities, is likely to suggest withdrawal of the status from a few institutions for serious shortcomings in their facilities and poor standard of faculty.
The committee, which is likely to submit its report to the HRD Ministry tomorrow, may recommend the tough action with a suggestion that the government should give the institutions some time to comply with, sources said.
The government will bring a bill for accreditation of institutions and the bill will set entry barriers for institutions to become universities. The deemed universities can go through the process and become universities if they pass the entry barriers, sources said.
The committee comprising Prof M Ananthakrishnan, Prof Mrinal Miri, Prof Govardhan Mehta and Prof P N Tandon have finalised the report after going through the presentations made by 126 deemed universities of the existing 130. Four deemed universities have not made any presentation before the committee, the sources said.
The committee is learnt to have found serious shortcomings in quality of faculty and facility in some institutions, sources said. It may suggest that such institutions should go back to their earlier status of college if they fail to fulfil the requirements within a certain period of time.
The committee members went through the presentations of the deemed universities and examined the documents to ascertain the quality of faculty, facilities, fee structure, admission and examination system in these institutions.
The committee, set by HRD Minister Kapil Sibal in June, was mandated to find out whether the deemed universities have the required facilities and faculty and if they delivered what they had promised before being conferred the status.
The government appointed such a committee in view of allegations that certain undeserving institutions have got the deemed university status. The government in the last five years has given such status to over 60 institutions, while about 60 institutions had got the status since 1956 to 2004.
Another committee on ‘Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education’ has said that majority of these institutes delude students and the status should be withdrawn if they fail to fulfil the accreditation norms in three years. It said such institutions are not established with any educational purpose.
Sibal has said that all the deemed universities will be regulated and action be taken on the basis of the recommendation of the four-member committee. The report of the committee will be put on the ministry’s website, he has said.
The government has instructed the deemed universities to have personal websites, displaying the faculty position and their addresses. ]
–Agencies