Shimla : The CPIM has lashed out at the HP Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission (HPPEIRC) for becoming a proxy body of the P.K.Dhumal led Himachal Pradesh government .
CPIM leader Tikender Panwar said here Sunday that it was shocking to note that the recent meeting of the commission was chaired by chief minister Dhumal instead of the chairperson of the regulator .
The party has questioned the wisdom for such a commission when it is serving the interests of the state government and has till date not penalised any institution a single penny despite rampant violations of the norms in these private universities.
He said it seems that the cat is out of the bag now and all euphoria created by the state government for providing quality education and ensuring private universities are under the radar of surveillance of HPPEIRC stands belied.
He alleged the same state government stands indicted for selling out education particularly higher education for maximisation of profits by the private educational shops has also to decide and prevail upon the defects and discrepancies the result is for all to see .
The CPIM has stated the private universities and the state government are playing with the careers and money of the students studying in these institutions .
There have been instances where the private universities have admitted students with class 10 qualification for 5 years integrated courses in engineering and management.
This is not permissible under the law. First the students should have passed class 12 and only then can a student be eligible for an engineering and management degree.
“Now with their careers at stake they have no alternative left. The party has asked both the state government and the management of the private universities to return back their money and pay adequate compensation to such students whose future has been ruined by them.
Similarly there has been large scale admissions in the Phd course, despite the fact that they hardly have any faculty to act as guides,”Panwar said .
The CPIM has stated, the HPPEIRC is acting as a mere rubber stamp of the BJP government and has not acted in the interests of the students .
The commission has violated the basic mandate that states, “It shall be the duty of the commission to ensure that standards of admissions, teaching examination, research , extension programme, qualified teachers……… In case of failure of educations institutions to meet the standards laid down , the commission shall have the power to penalize the educational institutions under section 11 of the act and in case of successive failure of an institution to meet the standards, the commission may recommend to the state government/ regulatory body for the winding up of the institution”.
He said the functioning of the commission has shelved the mandate and has worked in consonance with the state governments whims and wishes. The party has asked the commission to be more responsive and act in the interests of the state and the students.
In the last four years a dozen private universities have been set up across Himachal . Another dozen are in the pipeline .
Interestingly even if the BJP student body the ABVP has this month severely criticised the random opening up of universities calling it a front for real estate business .
Critics have pointed out loopholes in the current system which allows these private universities to be closed down after 25 years and use the land for any other business the owners wish .
Most of these universities have been given special permssion by the state cabinet to buy land in rural by the Himachal cabinet to set up educational institutions .
In a 20 year career published widely. He has worked for the BBC, AFP, The Statesman, IANS and the Business Standard . Known for his hard hitting writing and occasional off-beat stories. He lives in Shimla.
I do agree that we are nothing in education in front of other i think as 10 days back I Visited the HPU and i was shocked watching the condition of physics block , chemistry and hostel behind ICDEOL or whatever as I was there to collect the MSc degree for some person and from last 3 years they were just asking that document this document and finally fed up . When i visited the office i saw huge pile of files lying on floor and on side racks and peoples sitting there heating there chapties at around 12.45 and when we asked the guy said sir its lunch time than we replied its just 12.45 oh than he said ok we will look who is this than they said oh you have to submit the graduation degree photostat first ,my friend replied that she already sent 3 times and he said we didn’t received than finally we decided to ask fro fax right now so we can put full stop to this . I just wondered that if that person has not submitted the graduation degree how she was allowed to get seat on Msc and that to she she passed and no one bothered .there was not a single computer for record and all details kept in big files ……well its really shocking that we have one 1 university and that too can not be managed by govt…..so these private universities are given go ahead so that Govt. don’t have to spend money on HPU as more and more students will go to private , congestion will be low at hpu and finally money will be less required…..
If the report that the meeting of the commission was chaired by the Chief Minister is true, the regulator needs to read its mandate carefully and assert its independence. The regulators are independent bodies expected to act as watchdogs in pursuance of their mandate and help the State enforce the discipline expected to raise the quality and standards of the services these bodies are required to oversee.The quality of education is already a cause of serious concern in the State generally, and the quality of higher education needs to be supervised far more effectively to ensure that the future generations of students from the institutions of higher learning (!) in Himachal Pradesh are able to stand up in the face of severe competition from trans -State and national institutions and make their mark. Can the regulator contribute in that direction?
Well Mr Dhumal and BJP are doing good by opening universities in Himachal.
What standard does lovely professional university have still all himachalis are running to go there ?
Private universities are run by businessman for profits everybody knows this fact.
Sri sai university Palampur is providing engineering education at 20000/annum.I met a guy whose father works in PWD as daily wager studying there .
What does CPIM want we go to Punjab for the same private colleges ?
You cannot expect quality education from private universities when your government colleges are closed by ABVP ,SFI and NSUI on almost everyday .The universities are recruiting local people and providing jobs to local people.What’s wrong in opening a private university ?
The wrong is, commercialisation of education. We, in Tamil Nadu, are suffering a lot. You need money, that is all.
can any body provide me information about indian institute of education ,shimla,mount veiw,longwood.