CHENNAI: Students of deemed universities are entitled to know the status of their institution as well as the courses, the Madras High Court said on Tuesday.

When a batch of writ petitions, filed by four deemed universities in the State, the All-India Medical and Engineering Colleges Association and some other individuals, came up for hearing, the First Bench said that with the Right to Information Act already in place, the students could seek to know the status of the institutions in which they were studying.

The Bench of Chief Justice A.P. Shah and Justice Prabha Sridevan said authorities must look beyond institutions having good academic infrastructure. There were a lot of technical institutions and deemed universities that lacked basic amenities. The University Grants Commission must "act responsibly" against errant institutions. In the case of errant institutions, the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) could initiate action only under the provisions of the UGC Act. However, the AICTE could directly inspect deemed universities; it need not go through the UGC.

"No stipulation"

R. Vaigai, counsel for the Student Federation of India , said there was nothing in the Act stipulating that the AICTE should not carry out inspections on its own.

R. Krishnamoorthy, senior counsel for Sathyabama Deemed University, said the administration was not preventing the AICTE from inspecting the institution. The objection was with regard to the question whether the AICTE could form inspection committees on its own.

The Bench later said it would constitute a committee, comprising two members each from the AICTE and the UGC, to inspect Arupadai Veedu Institute of Technology, near here, and file a report.

Many students have come to court with a plea that the management be directed to refund the fees, along with original testimonials.

As for Rajendra Medical College Hospital and Research Institute in Kancheepuram district, advocate K. Selvaraj told the court that only the pre-medical portion of the course was conducted here, and the remaining three-year study would be conducted in the government-owned institution in Southern China.

Arguments would continue on Wednesday.

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