UGC likely to review 125 deemed varsities

The university grants commission (UGC) is likely to review the deemed university status enjoyed by 125 educational institutions in the country. It is understood that the human resource development ministry has given the go ahead to UGC to review the status for all deemed universities.

Sources stated that the UGC initially asked the ministry if it should review just C-category deemed universities — which the Tandon committee had advised for blacklisting. However, the government is understood to be in favour of reviewing all 125 institutions. The P.N. Tandon committee in 2009 suggested blacklisting 44 deemed universities, saying they lacked required quality.

The move comes two months after UGC asked 10 deemed universities to shut their off-campus centres. The regulator had said these centres were set up without following rules.

Sources stated that the review has been prompted as some of the deemed universities are way below expectations. After the review, if any of these are found wanting they are likely to face severe penalties, ranging from suspension of admission to fines.

The move could trigger further controversy as several of these institutions have been graded by the national assessment and accreditation council (NAAC). Over the last few months, the NAAC completed the accreditation process and graded them and a fresh round of review by UGC may lead to confusion, sources said.