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SEP: Recommendation to regulate deemed varsities sparks debate

SEP: Recommendation to regulate deemed varsities sparks debate

Time of India10-06-2025
Chennai: In its recommendations for State Education Policy (SEP), the high-level committee headed by Justice D Murugesan has recommended that deemed universities in the state be regulated.
This recommendation has, however, stirred up a debate as academicians said deemed universities were established under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, and state govts cannot regulate them.
As per the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), there are 35 deemed universities functioning in the state.
These institutions have an approximate intake of more than 60,000 students in undergraduate courses.
There were complaints that a few of them are providing substandard education while some are enrolling students who could not clear engineering exams in affiliated colleges and awarding them degrees.
"A regulatory body with the powers to regulate 'deemed to be universities' should be put in place," the Justice Murugesan committee said in its 550-page report to the govt.
"The regulatory body should have the power to regulate the admission procedure, including admission of a fixed percentage of the total intake of students from Tamil Nadu in each course, fee structure that may be determined by the fee committee, emolument structures for teaching and non-teaching staff as decided by the state, adopting the reservation policy of the state and the allied issues," it said.
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"It is to provide education for the downtrodden, marginalised, and suppressed sections of the society from the state," the panel said in the report. It also suggested bringing a separate act by the name 'Tamil Nadu Higher Education Institutions (Private) Registrations Act' and conditions for the grant of a no-objection certificate to deemed universities.
"Deemed universities are functioning like uncontrolled entities.
Except for academic autonomy, the state govt should have a say in admissions, fees, and other issues," a source in the high-level committee said.
Academicians say the state govt cannot regulate deemed universities that were established by UGC Act.
Representatives from the deemed universities said only UGC can prescribe guidelines to the institutions.
"State govt can interfere only with law and order issues. For any academic and regulatory issues, they cannot interfere with the deemed universities," Anna University former vice-chancellor E Balagurusamy said. "NBA and NAAC accreditations by deemed universities show they follow certain regulations. State govt has no power to control them," he added.
Madras University former vice-chancellor S P Thyagarajan concurred with this view. "State govt cannot control the deemed universities as far as academic and administrative functions," he said.
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