Some private universities in the State are in the dock as the University Grants Commission (UGC), on receiving complaints from students regarding inadequate infrastructure, constituted a fact-finding committee to conduct an inquiry.
The UGC had received complaints stating that teaching standards were not up to the mark and student intake was disproportionally more than laboratories and qualified faculty members at the institutes.
Quality check
The committee has been asked to examine the infrastructural facilities of private universities, and see whether they have adequate research, examination, and extension services, and good faculty. They will also conduct inquiries into the procedure followed for admissions, teaching and conducting examinations.
The UGC has also directed the committee to see if the authorities, including the Vice-Chancellor, Registrar and Finance Officer of the varsities, are qualified in accordance with UGC norms.
Several students from these universities have also complained about the fee refund policy. This will also be examined by the committee.
Move welcomed
The move has been welcomed not just by students but also by faculty members of these universities. A faculty member who works in one of the private universities said the UGC has received complaints that though the number of private educational institutions was on the rise in the State, there is the absence of a regulator. “There is blatant violation of several UGC norms and regulations as a result of which students suffer. Although they approach the State Higher Education Department to get their grievances addressed, the department officials say they have very little control over private universities,” he said.
A student who is pursuing an engineering degree from another private university in the city also expressed discontent with the way it was being run. “Every few months, our faculty members quit and the entire academic calendar gets disrupted. Moreover, there are more than a hundred students in my class and it is difficult to study in such a large class.”
Alliance university
After the family feud between two brothers affected the functioning of Alliance university, the State government had decided to amend the acts of these private universities to ensure that they had greater control on the varsity.
