Coimbatore: Calling for flexible norms for universities, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the University Grants Commission (UGC) should focus more on quality of education than the revenue or fees institutions received.
She was speaking at the 29th convocation of Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women in the city on Sunday.
"There are some institutions that do not collect capitation fee. Won't you allow them? Higher institutions and higher regulatory institutions in education should be worried about the quality of what is imparted in a classroom and the output of a particular course, rather than looking at the fees and the formulation with which fees are collected. The capitation fee can be exempted. We are asking for exemption of capitation fee. It should not even be there in the first place," she said.
She added that she always felt that one-size-fits-all principle does not work well. "If the UGC comes up with a set of rules and norms which is done in the broad interest of promoting education, it should also allow a certain degree of flexibility for the universities and institutions or else institutions like Avinashilingam can never fit into your rules and norms. This institution does not take any capitation fee and runs on the fee that is due. Without capitation fee, it is not possible to run a medical college. So they have not set it up," she said.
"What an irony that we have to ask for an exemption. But it is not permitted. This is education's irony. I am sure Archana Thakur, joint secretary and chief vigilance office of UGC will use her office and convey the message that capitation fee cannot be a subject of exceptions it should be the norm. No capitation should be the norm," said Nirmala Sitharaman.
Archana Thakur said the University Grants Commission was looking at Tamil Nadu and is happy with the way the institutions follow the norms. "Avinashilingam Institute should look at expanding and setting up a medical college as well," she further said.
On Sunday, 54 PhD scholars, 32 MPhil scholars, 273 postgraduates, 1593 undergraduates received their degrees and 74 graduates received gold medals for their meritorious performance at the convocation.
