All-India Council for Technical Education Meeting Will Soon To Assess Situation In Deemed Varsities

The All-India Council for Technical Education, Southern Region, will soon convene a meeting to assess the situation in deemed universities in the State, which witnessed student violence last week over the institutions' refusal to clarify their conformity to AICTE norms.

"Deemed universities should be made to adopt professional ethics and social responsibility. Standardisation of education offered by these institutions is the need of the hour. The cause of the student unrest is violation of norms by the institutions concerned. The UGC, while granting approval to the deemed universities, had stated that no norms should be violated," Anna University Vice-Chancellor and AICTE regional council chairman D. Viswanathan told reporters here on Monday. "The UGC has no say in approving courses, which is the AICTE's prerogative. The AICTE will soon convene a high-level meeting to resolve the issue."

The meeting comes in the wake of violence in SRM Deemed University and Sathyabama Deemed University, both in the city, over the issue of non-approval of a few engineering courses by the AICTE. Both institutions have been indefinitely closed down.

On Sunday, the heads of the deemed universities in the city went into a huddle, but the outcome was not made public. The silence of the institutions has intensified calls that the deemed universities should come under a rigorous monitoring process or risk de-recognition.

Says former Anna University Vice-Chancellor M. Anandakrishnan: "Discontent against these institutions was brewing for a long time, but they tried to bottle it up. Things started coming to a head a year ago because they refused to disclose even mandatory academic matters to the AICTE — whether the courses offered conformed to norms. It is time the UGC put its foot down and warned the institutions of de-recognition if the particulars are not furnished within a specified time."

Adds Salem-based educational analyst Jayaprakash Gandhi: "Apart from the students' anxiety about the validity of their degrees, the indefinite closure of the institutions has created panic among parents and students as the mandatory number of working days will not be fulfilled, resulting in postponement of semester examinations."

None of the deemed university representatives was available for comment.

On Monday, 50 students from the Palayamkottai-based PSN College of Engineering and Technology petitioned the Vice-Chancellor on "false claims" made by the management on two courses. While permission had not been sought from the Director-General of Shipping for B.E in Marine Engineering, the Director-General of Civil Aviation had not approved B.E in Aeronautical Engineering, the students told reporters during a demonstration in front of the Vice-Chancellor's office.

The protest was organised by the Students Federation of India. Some of the other charges were exorbitant fee collection, poor infrastructure and intimidation of students. The students wanted to be transferred to an other institution.

The Vice Chancellor assured them of an early resolution.

All-India Council for Technical Education Meeting Will Soon To Assess Situation In Deemed Varsities