The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Court urged to restrain deemed universities

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 23, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Court urged to restrain deemed universities

Special Correspondent

Petition seeks bar on admissions

CHENNAI: A public interest litigation petition has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking to restrain 19 deemed universities in the State offering medical, paramedical and engineering courses, from admitting students for academic year 2006-07.

The First Bench comprising Chief Justice A.P. Shah and Justice Prabha Sridevan, before which advocate Manikandan moved the petition for admission, ordered that the new PIL be clubbed with a pending batch of writ petitions filed by four deemed universities. The Bench posted the matter to March 24 for further hearing.

Direction sought

The new PIL, filed by a senior citizen S.T. Krishnamoorthi, also sought a direction to the Union Ministry for Human Resources Development to verify and publish the legal status of institutions and courses offered by these deemed universities and initiate action against them in case of non-compliance of mandatory rules and regulations.

The petitioner said the plea had been filed in national interest, "in the light of students agitation taking place in various technical institutes in Tamil Nadu, bringing the technical education sector to a standstill."

Naming the 19 deemed universities offering medical, paramedical and technical education as respondents, the petitioner said a public notification issued by the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) on February 21, 2006 called upon students seeking admission to technical courses to verify the status of courses on offer.

Among other things, it advised students to ascertain whether the courses had been approved by the AICTE or affiliated to the university concerned and whether the institute had sufficient infrastructure and instructional facilities. The notification also warned the "defaulting institutions" that they would be liable for prosecution under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code.

Noting that he was unable to obtain such mandatory details from the 19 deemed universities, the petitioner said even the official websites of the AICTE, the Medical Council of India and the Dental Council of India, as also the University Grants Commission did not have the list of approved institutions and the status of these 19 institutions.

Referring to a Kancheepuram district-based medical college hospital and research institute, which describes itself as an "extension medical school of Southern Medical University, Government of China," the petitioner said even the course names had not been spelt properly.

The petition said statutory authorities and the college managements must be called upon to make mandatory disclosures in national interest, "so as to ensure that gullible students and parents do not fall prey to allurements."

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