The Government has made a move to rein in errant private universities thriving on study centres outside their territorial jurisdiction, admitting students without fulfilling the requisite criteria or awarding degrees at will.
Following directions by the HRD Ministry, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has framed stringent rules and regulations, including imposition of heavy penalty — which could be in crores — on private universities breaching guidelines. At present, the maximum penalty levied for such violations is a nominal Rs 1,000.
On the flip side, though, thousands of students studying in such study centres or admitted in such varsities would be affected once UGC’s new rules come into effect.
According to a Ministry source, UGC and the HRD Ministry together have worked upon imposition of hefty penalty under different heads. Territorial jurisdiction is the burning issue since students in faraway States fall prey to misleading banners and advertisements put by private universities. UGC, last week, worked on fresh modalities of regulations, which include even dissolution of the private university.
From now on, private universities cannot affiliate an institution or any college — a practice much in vogue to cheat students in remote and far flung areas. The new draft regulation also says private universities will not be allowed to establish off-campus centres beyond territorial jurisdiction of the concerned State.
While several private universities operate offshore campus, UGC has not approved any of them. “However, they can establish off-campus centres within the State after they are five years old and with prior UGC approval,” said a commission source.
Violations may invite a penalty of Rs 1 crore, along with a case of cheating under IPC to be registered against the promoter/chancellor and administration of the university.
The HRD Ministry has already scrapped the distant education cell and entrusted the task to regulate and improve standards of distance and open learning to the UGC, from June 2013. At present, there are a total of 154 private universities governed by the commission, of which 34 have been found flouting norms.
Recently, CMJ University allegedly awarded a record number of 434 PhD degrees in one year and registered another 490 more scholars for the same academic year. Mahatma Gandhi University (MGU) has also been accused of breaching territorial jurisdiction.