The State Government seems to have finally woke up to the allegations of malpractice during semester examinations in various private engineering colleges and polytechnic institutes. It has now directed the State Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (SCTE & VT) to look into allegations of malpractice and take appropriate measures.
With the number of medical colleges and seats increasing, there aren't enough cadavers for learning clinical techniques. Government colleges still manage to get cadavers, but private colleges are in a fix as they have to request permission and wait for government approval to get a cadaver.
The Legislative Assembly on Thursday passed the Karnataka Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fixation Fee) (Special Provisions) Bill, 2013, that provides recognition for the consensual agreement proposed to be entered in to between the State government and the private unaided educational institutions imparting professional educational courses for 2013-14 academic year.
A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Madras high court to direct the private dental colleges to ensure and conduct admission of students to the postgraduation courses strictly as per the laws and regulations based on the merit-based rank list published by the Director of Medical Education (DME) and consequently direct the state government to monitor and supervise the admission process to ensure proper transparent and merit-based admission.
Stop Loyola College from admitting students for aided and unaided, undergraduate and post-graduate courses, as there is an apprehension that merit and reservation norms may not be followed during admissions, said a PIL filed in the Madras high court.
The Gujarat University (GU) landed itself in a controversy when it signed MoUs with two private institutes for operation of five-year integrated professional courses within the university campus. The move has been branded as favouritism by academicians linked to GU.
In about a month's time, MBBS admission counselling dates would be announced but deals worth crores have already been inked between private college authorities and students for management quota seats at a time when the government is mulling introduction of an online application process to bring in transparency.
AIADMK on Friday urged the AINRC-ruled Puducherry government to ensure private medical colleges earmarked 50 per cent of the total seats in MBBS courses for students under government quota.
As their demand for hiking the fees for undergraduate professional courses was shot down by the state government, private professional colleges in the state have hiked the price for management quota seats manifold. While some of the private engineering colleges in the state have stated charging about Rs 18 lakh for seats under the payment (management) quota, the amount seems to be on a continuous ascent.
The Bill proposing Bangalore University’s bifurcation, passed earlier this year, has been pending the Governor’s approval along with the Karnataka State Universities (Second Amendment) Bill, 2013. The Chancellor, however, had approved the Bills to establish private universities.
Even as the fake degree racket of Chandra MohanJha (CMJ) University is getting murkier and believed to have even crossed the country's frontiers, the University Grants Commission (UGC) that had granted it the status of an 'university' has failed to take any action till date. Senior officials from Nagpur University, who are now searching for the CMJU's beneficiary students in over 800 colleges in its jurisdiction, disclosed that the Delhi-based apex body had granted 'private' status to as many as 150 universities across the country. Of them about 20 were believed to have operating bogus degree racket through agents spread far and wide across the country.
Police are investigating an Indian university suspected of issuing fake PhDs after it awarded more than 400 doctorates in a single year, officers said Wednesday.
A committee headed by the district collector recently found a full-time lecturer at a government college practising at a private hospital and also claiming non-practise allowance given to doctors for refraining from private practice. Following the incident, the committee is all set to launch a drive across the district to identify such bogus practitioners and clinics.
What is also surprising is that there are only three private colleges from Chennai — SSN College of Engineering, Meenakshi Sundarajan Engineering College and Sairam Engineering College — ranked in the first 20. At least 60 colleges have a less than 20 per cent pass percentage, which students could avoid. Many of these colleges are around Tirunelveli, Kancheepuram, Kanyakumari, Vellore, Erode, and Villupuram.
The new Act making one-year rural service compulsory for new MBBS doctors is all set to snowball into a major controversy as chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has already signed an agreement with private medical colleges, exempting management quota students from rural stint.
The fee committee chaired by Malai Subramanian has enhanced the fee for MBBS course by five per cent in two self-financing medical colleges under Pondicherry University for a period of three years.
On the issue of setting up of 20 new private universities, Mr. Deshpande said a three-member official committee has been set up to monitor the availability of infrastructure and quality of education in private universities.
Primary education minister Sake Sailajanath directed officials to initiate stringent action against private colleges and schools if they were found violating norms and collecting exorbitant fees.
As many as eight private medical colleges in the state have withdrawn from the agreement they had entered with the government on seat sharing and decided to do away with 50% general category seats. In other words, any student who seeks admission to these colleges will now have to pay almost Rs 5 lakh as fees per annum, instead of the earlier subsidized fees of Rs 1,65,000/annum.