UGC calls out Deemed universities to maintain NAAC, NIRF ratings and their finances

Private universities aspiring to get ‘deemed to be’ status and retain it for consecutive years will have to follow new regulations by the UGC. As per the new regulations, institutions with as many as five departments that have NAAC accreditation of 3.1 consecutively for three years for two-thirds of their eligible programmes will get the deemed to be university status. Now the HEIs would not have to wait for 20 years to get the status. In addition to this, the account books will have to be maintained, managed and operated in the name of deemed university, to avoid financial irregularities.
Speaking to Education Times, Jayasankar E Variyar, pro-vice-chancellor, GITAM (Deemed to be University), says, “This decision by UGC is progressive and will enable more universities to get deemed to be status. In the past, many private universities failed to get the status and had to suffer long waiting periods. The universities will have to focus on retaining the NAAC grade of 3.1 in three consecutive accreditation cycles and to fulfil these criteria, the universities would need to produce excellent graduates and decent infrastructure.”
“The teaching learning outcomes will get a qualitative boost in the HEIs across the country as they would focus upon achieving the desired level of NAAC rating,” adds Variyar.
Pankaj Mittal, secretary general, Association of Indian Universities (AIU), says, “The higher education ecosystem in the country will expand both in quantum as well as in quality. The eligibility conditions mentioned in the UGC regulations would only apply to private institutions. As per Section 3 of UGC Act, an institution which is performing well and contributing to knowledge creation can be given deemed to be universities by the Government of India on the recommendation of UGC. Currently, 118 deemed to be universities are members of AIU.”
S Vaidhyasubramaniam, vice-chancellor, Sastra University (Deemed to be University), Tamil Nadu, says, “The financial health of a deemed university is strictly regulated. For instance, the books of accounts of a deemed university shall be maintained, managed and operated in the name of the deemed university alone and not in the name of the sponsoring body or any other body for that matter. No diversion of funds from a deemed university’s account to that of any other body or entity is allowed. The same is true for the income and any other property of a deemed university. Strict norms are put in place for their financial management. In case of any deviation from the guidelines, the provision for penalties and even closure of the university have also been recommended. It is too early to evaluate its possible impact, but it will surely bring transparency to the ecosystem. However, the contours of administrative, academic, and financial autonomy as enshrined in the Constitution, have also to be protected for the private unaided institutions.”