At a time when government universities and colleges are gearing up for students’ union elections, most private universities and colleges in state are shying away. This is despite the Lyngdoh Committee strongly recommended to conduct elections in all institutions.
A division bench of MP high court has directed the state government to adhere to a 50:50 distribution ratio of post graduate seats in the state-run and private medical colleges. Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice Vimla Jain made it mandatory for the director, medical education to follow the directions during counseling for medical PG seats scheduled this month.
Over 50 study centres affiliated to various universities with doubtful credentials are functioning in the city. None of these study centres are authorized to award degrees and diplomas that are recognized by universities affiliated to the University Grants Commission (UGC).
CM Nitish Kumar laid the foundation stone of Lord Buddha International Institute of Medical Sciences (LBIIMS) at Beldari Chak in rural Patna on Saturday and said it would serve as a convergence centre for different aspects of medical science. The institute would be linked with four major places at Nalanda, Rajgir, Bodh Gaya and Vaishali where primary health centres (PHCs) would be opened and, later on, linked with this medical college. The LBIIMS will have 300 beds for poor patients and is first private medical college in the state capital.
Though students have a reason to cheer with the state government waiving off the JEE condition for admission into BTech courses, colleges are far from having a sigh of relief.
Nearly a decade after the Supreme Court verdict, the Congress-NCP government is all set to bring in a comprehensive legislation to regulate admissions and fees in private medical and engineering colleges from the 2013-14 academic session.
The Department of Higher Education will establish 10 English Language Labs in private colleges apart from the five Government colleges in the current academic year.
For India, where plenty of capacity has been created in higher education, quality of teaching should become the focus now, particularly in private sector institutions, according to Raghuram G. Rajan, Chief Economic Advisor, Union Ministry of Finance.
Even as protests by engineering students for allowing 'carry on' gain momentum, Nagpur University officials have alleged that private engineering colleges are instigating the students. The colleges want the student agitation to succeed, as it will mean more admissions and more fees for them.
Students opting for private universities will now know which one is better. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to allow private universities in all states to seek a tag of 'University with Potential for Excellence' (UPE) under the 12th Plan. Even private colleges can now get recognition from the UGC for doing good work.
The delay in Eamcet counselling is reportedly benefiting the private engineering colleges of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as around 40,000 students from Rayalaseema have taken admissions in the colleges of nearby states.
Over 100 private non-minority and minority engineering colleges in the state, which offer post-graduate courses, may be asked to surrender 65 per cent and 50 per cent of their seats to the government’s single window counselling for post-graduate courses from next year.
The disagreement between the State government and private college managements over the extra fee issue was out in the open at a press conference here on Thursday.
Managements of private engineering colleges have agreed to last year's proposal on segregating colleges into three groups to settle the extra fee issue.