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Plea to Centre on conferring "deemed university status"

Special Correspondent

"Consult Pondicherry Government before taking a decision"

Pondicherry: Chief Minister N. Rangasamy has said he had made it clear to the Centre that it should consult the Pondicherry Government before conferring " deemed varsity status" on any privately managed professional college here. Converting the private member resolution tabled earlier in the Assembly on Friday by S. P. Sivakumar (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) into a Government resolution to urge the Centre and the University Grant Commission (UGC) not to sanction "deemed university" status to any professional college here, the Chief Minister said he said he had written a letter to the concerned Ministry in this regard.

Mr. Rangasamy said that purpose of letting private players to establish the colleges here was to ensure admission to the students of Pondicherry. Moving the resolution earlier, Mr. Sivakumar said it was only a few years now since private players had opened their professional colleges. Two privately run medical colleges, claiming affiliation to Vinayaka Mission having deemed university status, refused admission to students under Government quota.

He said it was violation of UGC guidelines. Mr. Sivakumar also said that there was information that some more private engineering and medical colleges here were trying to get "deemed university status".

The Assembly should urge the UGC and the Centre not to confer such status on any private institution and if it had been sanctioned it should be withdrawn. This plea was accepted and the House adopted unanimously the resolution.

Employment scheme

Chief Minister told leader of the Opposition A.M.H. Nazeem that he had made a plea to the Centre that the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme be extended to Pondicherry and Karaikal regions. He said the tsunami and other furies of nature had cast spell on the farm labourers.

He said he had made representation in this regard to the Centre.

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