A day after Nagpur University cleared the alleged 'illegal' proposal of partial 'carry on', academicians associated with it slammed the administration led by vice-chancellor Vilas Sapkal for bowing down to private engineering colleges and diluting academic standards of university. They said never in history of any university such a rule was made where students were granted admissions but not allowed to appear in exams. Some plan to move to the judiciary against this decision.
Owing to lack of qualified faculty and infrastructure in several new private engineering colleges in the state, over 6,000 postgraduate (M.E., M.Tech, M.B.A., M.Arch and M.Plan) seats went abegging at the end of the government’s single window counselling this year.
A small percentage gets into education and goes on to teach in medical colleges. Again, the lucre is better in the private medical colleges, certainly better than the pay scales the government is able to afford. Which leads us to the crisis that medical colleges, particularly State-run, are facing today.
Kerala Nursing and Midwives Council’s decision to bar allotments to 400 nursing seats spread across 8 University Colleges of Nursing under the M.G. University for this year has left around 2,500 applicants in the lurch.
The Gujarat industries department signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with private enterprises today to set up five centres of excellence in three universities and two industrial training institutes (ITIs) in the state, a statement issued by the Gujarat state government said.
Private college managements which attract a number of intermediate students in the state seem baffled by the drop. "In some branches in Hyderabad, the fall in MPC students is at least 5% when compared to last year. This is definitely beginning of a new trend. And, medical education is being favoured by more number of students than earlier," said principal of a private college in Narayanguda. "This trend can be considered as a starting point of a focus shift from engineering to other professional education," he said.
Private educational institutes decided to close schools and colleges for five days from Friday in support of Samaikyandhra. Convener of private institutes JAC Chatla Narasimha Rao announced this here on Thursday.
Sunil Dabhade, placement officer in a private college, said that last year 400 companies had approached them for placements till September; however, not more than 250 companies have conducted placement drives so far this year.
Reacting to the Supreme Court's recent order that termed private technical and medical colleges' demand for capitation fees from students illegal and unethical, Union minister of human resource development MM Pallam Raju on Friday said there are certain loopholes in the system due to which the menace of capitation fees stays alive. "Centre is making all efforts to address the problem. Unfortunately, the Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical Educational Institutions, Medical Educational Institution and Universities Bill 2010 is pending in the Parliament," said Raju on the sidelines of a function organised by Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU).
The Admission Supervisory Committee for Professional Colleges has directed the Kerala Private Medical College Management Association (KPMCMA) to cancel all admissions given from outside the qualified rank list of 408 candidates from the entrance examination that was held earlier this year.
In a bid to keep a track of teachers working in private colleges, Barkatullah University on Saturday decided to issue bio-metric cards from the next academic session.
As many as 62 government and private colleges offering diploma in teachers' education (DTEd) have applied for closure due to low demand for the course.
Maharashtra Government is mulling setting up of a special recruitment board on lines of MPSC and UPSC for the appointment of lecturers and staff to private colleges, minister for Higher and Technical Education Rajesh Tope has said.
Apart from law and order, education and health are perhaps the two areas where a government has the greatest responsibility towards its citizens - in socialist as well as capitalist societies. Unfortunately, in India, we have seen the steady retreat of government as a provider of quality education and healthcare. It is clear that there is no option but for the private sector to step in to bridge the yawning gap in the number of schools, colleges and hospitals.
Eighty students from Kashmiri families, who took admission in a Fatehgarh Sahib-based engineering college under the Prime Minister's Special Scholarship Scheme, have alleged that the college duped them and left them in a situation where they cannot even seek admission in another college.
The Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) issued a notification on Tuesday, detailing the process for filling up vacant seats in six private unaided medical and dental colleges, including three in Pune, starting from September 23.
Private universities in state will invite trouble for themselves for affiliating colleges. In the wake of escalating number of complaints regarding affiliation/ franchise centres being distributed freely, University Grants Commission has yet again warned private universities not to flout the norms or face the music as per the private universities regulation, 2003. The commission, citing regulations, has said that private universities being unitary in nature cannot affiliate any college or institute for conducting courses leading to award of its diplomas, degree or other qualifications.