Deemed-to-be universities , open universities and distance education programmes are very much needed in India because of the large population in the young age groups. But in a country riddled with mind-boggling scams and scandals, the education sector is not an exception. Rather, it is in the fore front of corruption, “extortion” and mismanagement from pre-school to doctoral levels.
Academic excellence and adequate infrastructure are important criteria for granting the status of a deemed-to-be university to an educational institution under section 3 of the UGC Act. But in the post-liberalisation era, political clout and money power have become key factors in the expansion of deemed universities in the country: 129 by the end of 2011. The performance record of the vast majority of the deemed universities can be easily understood from the action of the Ministry of Human Resource Development which derecognised 44 deemed universities and put another 44 on notice two years ago. But all of them are still in business. The Governor as Chancellor of the universities in a state was the norm in the early days. Then the politicians entered the university scene directly with the education ministers becoming pro-chancellors. But the deemed universities, many of which are family enterprises, created many chancellors, pro-chancellors and vice-chancellors, with the dynastic system in place. In contrast , the prestigious Tata Institute of Social Sciences (a deemed university) is headed by its Director and its governing board has a chairman. Many deemed universities are liberal in conferring honorary doctorates and the credentials of the recipients are often questionable. The prefix “Dr” is the most sought after decoration by persons in all walks of life including even astrologers.
Barring the Indira Gandhi Open University (IGNOU), the distance education centres of the different universities are in a state of disarray ad deliberate deviance despite having a Distance Education Council of the Government of India. Almost all courses including engineering are offered by the distance education centres. Only the medical degrees are spared at present. Sub- standard reading materials, incompetent personnel handling contact classes , and inadequate practicum are the common features of many distance education courses. Project report is a requirement of some degrees and the quality of most of the reports is poor. Plagiarism and “outsourcing” are accepted as “normal”.
The Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (MSU) has hit the headlines recently. It ran 329 unapproved programmes through ”Satellite Centres” between 2008 and 2011 without the approval of either the Distance Education Council or the Indian Council of Technical Education according to a recent note of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The validity of the certificates of around 80,000 students is under the scanner. While 74 private institutions- “technical collaborators”- got an undue benefit of INR 27.73 crore, the University incurred a loss of INR 35.41 crore in revenue. Some institutes virtually “looted” the students by charging up to 40 times the fee fixed by the University. The MSU case may only be the tip of an iceberg.
The Universities in India are growing exponentially : 30 in 1951 and 634 by the end of 2011. But at what cost and for whose benefit ?
Academic excellence and adequate infrastructure are important criteria for granting the status of a deemed-to-be university to an educational institution under section 3 of the UGC Act. But in the post-liberalisation era, political clout and money power have become key factors in the expansion of deemed universities in the country: 129 by the end of 2011. The performance record of the vast majority of the deemed universities can be easily understood from the action of the Ministry of Human Resource Development which derecognised 44 deemed universities and put another 44 on notice two years ago. But all of them are still in business. The Governor as Chancellor of the universities in a state was the norm in the early days. Then the politicians entered the university scene directly with the education ministers becoming pro-chancellors. But the deemed universities, many of which are family enterprises, created many chancellors, pro-chancellors and vice-chancellors, with the dynastic system in place. In contrast , the prestigious Tata Institute of Social Sciences (a deemed university) is headed by its Director and its governing board has a chairman. Many deemed universities are liberal in conferring honorary doctorates and the credentials of the recipients are often questionable. The prefix “Dr” is the most sought after decoration by persons in all walks of life including even astrologers.
Barring the Indira Gandhi Open University (IGNOU), the distance education centres of the different universities are in a state of disarray ad deliberate deviance despite having a Distance Education Council of the Government of India. Almost all courses including engineering are offered by the distance education centres. Only the medical degrees are spared at present. Sub- standard reading materials, incompetent personnel handling contact classes , and inadequate practicum are the common features of many distance education courses. Project report is a requirement of some degrees and the quality of most of the reports is poor. Plagiarism and “outsourcing” are accepted as “normal”.
The Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (MSU) has hit the headlines recently. It ran 329 unapproved programmes through ”Satellite Centres” between 2008 and 2011 without the approval of either the Distance Education Council or the Indian Council of Technical Education according to a recent note of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The validity of the certificates of around 80,000 students is under the scanner. While 74 private institutions- “technical collaborators”- got an undue benefit of INR 27.73 crore, the University incurred a loss of INR 35.41 crore in revenue. Some institutes virtually “looted” the students by charging up to 40 times the fee fixed by the University. The MSU case may only be the tip of an iceberg.
The Universities in India are growing exponentially : 30 in 1951 and 634 by the end of 2011. But at what cost and for whose benefit ?
social work continuing education is crucial with today's economy.
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