AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Technological University (GTU) is upset over a recent circular of the University Grant Commission (UGC) asking universities not to grant affiliation to any college till further orders. GTU officials say the central body does not have the power to ban universities from granting affiliation. The UGC circular is signed by its secretary Akhilesh Gupta.
The Supreme Court recently ruled, in response to a petition, that colleges affiliated to a university are not technical institutes as defined under the All India Council for Technical Education Act (AICTE)-1987. For this reason, AICTE cannot directly control or supervise the affiliated colleges.
The UGC circular states: "In view of the [SC] judgment, it becomes imperative for the universities and the UGC to evolve a suitable methodology to ensure that existing technical colleges affiliated to the university do not dilute standards of technical education imparted by them." The circular goes on to say that it is of utmost importance that universities allowed to grant affiliation to new technical college, exercise that authority with due care.
"Any dilution of standards of technical education at this juncture would also belie the trust reposed by the Supreme Court in the sanctity of autonomy to universities," the circular says.
It further states that in the meantime, the UGC is working on suitable guidelines for ensuring high standards of teaching and learning in affiliated colleges offering courses of professional and technical nature. In other words, the circular says that no university should grant affiliation to any college offering courses of professional and technical nature until the UGC comes out with guidelines.
This is what has upset GTU and the managements of self-financed institutes (SFIs). GTU officials say that the UGC does not have any power to regulate universities in the matter of granting affiliation and hence it cannot come up with such a directive.
Officials of self-financed collages association said that if the UGC comes out with such guidelines restricting universities from granting affiliation, they would move the Supreme Court.
Janak Khandwala, president of the Association of Self-Finance Colleges conceded that there is a need for central control on granting of affiliations. "But the UGC should come up with a body similar to the AICTE or should restructure the AICTE itself," said Khandwala. |