Twitter trolls: Vikas graduated from non-existent ‘eminent’ Jio Institute

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On Monday, the Minister of Human Resource Development, Prakash Javadekar, announced the names of six institutions of higher education – three each in public and private sectors – that have been granted the status of “Institution of Eminence”.

Jio Institute, which was named in the list of six public and private universities to get the Institution of Eminence tag, which gives it autonomy, doesn’t actually exist yet. Even then it has been declared an “Institution of Eminence”. An institution proposed to be set up by Reliance Foundation, led by Nita Ambani. With this, the Jio Institute gets unprecedented freedom from the government’s higher education regulations from its very birth.

So what’s the advantage of having the Institute of Eminence status? institutes get greater autonomy, can decide their fees and have flexible course durations and structure. The controversy over Jio Institute is due to the fact that it has been granted the status even before it has been set up. Understandably, other private institutes aren’t amused.

Admission will be merit-based. It will be multidisciplinary from the start with 10 schools and over 50 disciplines “including humanities, engineering, medical sciences, sports, law, performing arts, sciences, urban planning, etc.” It will create a “fully residential university city”.

 

On social media, many questioned this move and Twitter users characteristically managed to find humor in the situation. Some took the opportunity to make fun of the lack of transparency on the educational qualification of some politicians in the current government. References to ‘entire political science’, one of the subjects on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Masters degree, turned up.

SIASAT NEWS