Don’t treat education as commodity: Bengal CM to private institutions
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has sent out a strong message on maintaining quality in higher education, saying private institutions should not treat learning exclusively as a commercial commodity while pursuing returns on their investments.
Replying to a query on attracting foreign universities to the State during an interaction with the civil society members on Saturday evening, he said his Government is ready to consider any good proposal a reputed foreign university comes up with.
“We can think of an Education City where we can have many higher educational institutions and industries. There can be both public and private universities. We can even invite foreign universities. If reputed foreign universities come with a good proposal, we are ready to consider it.”
He, however, said that attracting reputed institutions alone would not be enough and sharply criticised the commercialisation of higher education and the alleged deterioration in standards of learning in several private institutions.
“Private educational institutions have made huge investments and naturally expect returns. But education cannot be treated like a commodity,” he said.
Adhikari alleged that several private universities and medical colleges established over the past five to six years had resorted to irregularities, including showing the same faculty members at multiple branches and arranging patients during inspections to obtain regulatory approvals.
He also alleged that several private engineering colleges lacked quality laboratories, libraries, equipment and qualified faculty, while many private ITIs had become centres where students got enrolled only to obtain certificates.
Drawing a contrast with the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Adhikari said their credibility rested on uncompromising academic standards, quality faculty and strong placement records.
“People still rate IITs the highest because students secure campus placements and become the cream of society,” he said.
Citing the recent warehouse collapse in Kolkata, the chief minister said his Government had entrusted the structural assessment to experts from IIT Kharagpur and RITES instead of depending solely on State agencies.
“Why did we call IIT Kharagpur? Because credibility matters. Educational institutions cannot compromise on quality,” he said.
Adhikari also alleged that nearly 500 admissions in private medical colleges were secured using fake NRI certificates, claiming such irregularities had been encouraged by managements and protected by the previous Government.
“I do not want students to suffer because they are already studying. But there can be no compromise on quality, evaluation systems, faculty or infrastructure,” he added.
