The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : BU to issue notice to Christ varsity, impose Rs. 60-lakh fine

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Wednesday, Jun 29, 2011
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BU to issue notice to Christ varsity, impose Rs. 60-lakh fine

Deepa Kurup

Christ, Jain Universities have not applied for disaffiliation: Vice-Chancellor

Colleges conferred deemed varsity status must apply for disaffiliation, according to UGC
‘We applied for disaffiliation in August 2009, but Bangalore varsity did not respond to it'

— File Photo: K. Murali Kumar

The Aftermath: Bangalore University has sought the University Grants Commission's advice on what to do with colleges that have not sought disaffiliation.

Bangalore: The Bangalore University (BU) is planning to slap a Rs. 60-lakh fine on Christ University for failing to apply for disaffiliation when it detached itself from the varsity two years ago.

A notice has been sent to the institution seeking clarification in this regard, Bangalore University Vice-Chancellor N. Prabhu Dev told The Hindu. He has also sought the University Grants Commission's advice on what to do with colleges that had not sought disaffiliation.

Government opposition

In March, the BU syndicate had announced its decision to take similar action on Jain University. This was later opposed by the Government which sought an explanation from BU.

“The fine imposed is for the four examinations they have conducted ever since the deemed university tag was given. For each exam they are required to pay the university a fee of around Rs. 16 lakh, and that is the money we are collecting,” Dr. Prabhu Dev said. He also clarified that BU was not charging affiliation fee from these colleges, despite their not having applied for disaffiliation. “We will take this forward according to the recommendation or opinion we receive (on this) from the UGC.”

According to the UGC norms, colleges conferred with deemed university status must apply for disaffiliation to formally separate from their parent universities.

‘Untenable position'

While Christ University was unavailable for comment, a senior official of Jain University said BU's allegation was untenable. “We had already applied for disaffiliation in August 2009, within weeks of receiving the UGC notice conferring us deemed university status. However, BU did not respond to our application.” The official also pointed out that during admissions, the college did not figure on the seat matrix, which meant that BU acknowledged that the college was no longer under its affiliation.

Both Christ and Jain Universities are among the 44 institutions that figured on the derecognised list identified by the Tandon Committee. The matter is still pending before the Supreme Court, though in April 2011, the court extended the status quo, allowing these colleges to proceed with admissions for 2011-2012.

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