The Hindu : Front Page : Deemed varsities bound by AICTE norms: court

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Saturday, Mar 25, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Deemed varsities bound by AICTE norms: court

Special Correspondent

First Bench advises students to stop their agitation

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday observed that deemed universities offering technical education are bound to follow the norms and conditions of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

When a batch of public interest litigation and writ petitions came up for hearing, the First Bench comprising Chief Justice A.P. Shah and Justice Prabha Sridevan advised the agitating students and others to exercise restraint.

`Exercise restraint'

"Both sides must exercise restraint. Students must stop their agitation. It will not take them anywhere," the Chief Justice observed, adding that the court was aware of the students' problem and their case would be heard on a priority basis.

It posted the entire batch, which included a implead petition from the Students Federation of India (SFI), to April 3 for further proceedings.

`Violence engineered'

R. Vaigai, counsel for the SFI, submitted that violence on the campus of Sathyabama Deemed University was engineered by the management itself and several students were beaten up by the management personnel and many students were still missing.

Violence

"I can even furnish the names of the missing students."

When there was no violence during agitation in any other deemed university, how come there was a problem only in Sathyabama, Ms. Vaigai asked. "Students are packed in classes like sardines in tin box," she said. There is fear among students and they needed protection.

Earlier, Nalini Chidambaram, senior counsel for a PIL petitioner, said if the University Grants Commission were to grant deemed university status to one technical institution after the other, the AICTE Act would be rendered redundant at some point.

Public interest

"In public interest, it is necessary for deemed universities to take prior permission even to start new courses," she said, adding that such an order could be passed prospectively.

When the Chief Justice said, "Rightly or wrongly students were told that their degrees would be worthless," Rajeev Dhavan, senior counsel representing Sathyabama Deemed University, said the AICTE's press notification caused anxiety among students.

Serious action

"The AICTE acted very irresponsibly. First, they said students were in jeopardy, then they warned the institutions of serious action."

When Ms. Vaigai wanted the deemed universities to tell the court whether they had replied to queries from the AICTE and the UGC, the Bench directed counsel for both parties to place the entire file, including replies from deemed universities. "Let there be transparency," it said.

Admission stayed

By a separate order, the Bench restrained the Kancheepuram district-based Rajendra Medical College Hospital and Research Institute from admitting students to any of its courses. The institute claimed it was an "extension medical school" of Southern Medical University, Government of China.

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