A day after Nagpur University cleared the alleged 'illegal' proposal of partial 'carry on', academicians associated with it slammed the administration led by vice-chancellor Vilas Sapkal for bowing down to private engineering colleges and diluting academic standards of university. They said never in history of any university such a rule was made where students were granted admissions but not allowed to appear in exams. Some plan to move to the judiciary against this decision.
Owing to lack of qualified faculty and infrastructure in several new private engineering colleges in the state, over 6,000 postgraduate (M.E., M.Tech, M.B.A., M.Arch and M.Plan) seats went abegging at the end of the government’s single window counselling this year.
A small percentage gets into education and goes on to teach in medical colleges. Again, the lucre is better in the private medical colleges, certainly better than the pay scales the government is able to afford. Which leads us to the crisis that medical colleges, particularly State-run, are facing today.
Private college managements which attract a number of intermediate students in the state seem baffled by the drop. "In some branches in Hyderabad, the fall in MPC students is at least 5% when compared to last year. This is definitely beginning of a new trend. And, medical education is being favoured by more number of students than earlier," said principal of a private college in Narayanguda. "This trend can be considered as a starting point of a focus shift from engineering to other professional education," he said.
Private educational institutes decided to close schools and colleges for five days from Friday in support of Samaikyandhra. Convener of private institutes JAC Chatla Narasimha Rao announced this here on Thursday.
Sunil Dabhade, placement officer in a private college, said that last year 400 companies had approached them for placements till September; however, not more than 250 companies have conducted placement drives so far this year.
Eighty students from Kashmiri families, who took admission in a Fatehgarh Sahib-based engineering college under the Prime Minister's Special Scholarship Scheme, have alleged that the college duped them and left them in a situation where they cannot even seek admission in another college.
The Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) issued a notification on Tuesday, detailing the process for filling up vacant seats in six private unaided medical and dental colleges, including three in Pune, starting from September 23.
Private universities in state will invite trouble for themselves for affiliating colleges. In the wake of escalating number of complaints regarding affiliation/ franchise centres being distributed freely, University Grants Commission has yet again warned private universities not to flout the norms or face the music as per the private universities regulation, 2003. The commission, citing regulations, has said that private universities being unitary in nature cannot affiliate any college or institute for conducting courses leading to award of its diplomas, degree or other qualifications.