Governor Ramesh Bais today said that education should not be taken as a business at all. There is no justification for such an education system in the interest of the students. He said that it is a matter of surprise and sorrow that the private universities established in our State are not fulfilling the criteria set by the UGC and the government. He said that without the permission of UGC, private universities start various courses and distribute degrees to the students. By doing this they are only playing with the future of the students.
The Governor was reviewing the academic and administrative activities of various private universities located in the state at Raj Bhavan on Friday. In the review meeting, Additional Chief Secretary, Higher and Technical Education Department KK Khandelwal, Additional Chief Secretary to Governor Shailesh Kumar Singh and Vice Chancellors of various private universities located in the State were present.
The Governor directed all private universities to fulfill the criteria set by UGC and Government at the earliest. He said that all private universities should keep in mind the students’ interest.
He said that today many private universities are opening in every State. Referring to Chhattisgarh on the above occasion, he said that since the practice of granting recognition for opening of private universities started, more than 125 universities were opened in Chhattisgarh in 2001, even some universities were being run from hotels. He took up the matter seriously in the interest of the students. The result was that private universities operated without UGC and government norms were closed and within two months only six universities were left.
The Governor said that it is remembered that once every student used to be interested in studying in Netarhat. Parents used to dream that their child should be in Netarhat School. He told the Vice Chancellors of private universities that can we not establish that kind of environment in the universities where students from the country and abroad come to get education. He said that all private universities should provide quality education to their students so that they can get respectable employment. He stressed on improving the teacher-student ratio in universities. The Governor said that it is ironic that many private universities have neither their own building nor sufficient land even after getting recognition so many years ago.
The Governor directed all private universities to make arrangements for separate toilets for girl students and differently-abled. He directed the construction of ramps for the differently-abled at the earliest. He said that our universities should pay serious attention towards providing employment to the women here at the local level.
The Governor said that today our students are struggling for jobs outside the State after getting degrees from here. There are many companies in this state too; all of you should do your best for the placement of students. He directed the private universities to make their placement centers effective. The Governor asked the private universities to check their background seriously at the time of appointment to various administrative posts such as Vice-Chancellor, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, Controller of Examinations, Financial Advisor, Financial Officer etc. They should have a better image so that the image of the university is not tarnished.
On the said occasion, Additional Chief Secretary, Higher and Technical Education Department KK Khandelwal said that the Governor is concerned about the development of higher education in the State.
He is constantly striving for this and gets his constant guidance for comprehensive improvement in the field of higher education. He said that private universities should have 25 acres of land. Apart from this, complete infrastructure should be developed within 5 years. He directed all the private universities to comply with the prescribed norms at the earliest. It may be noted that there are 16 private universities in the state.