3 Engineering colleges may get deemed status

APSCHE team to visit proposed varsities

Hyderabad: The AP State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) has decided to personally visit the campuses the five institutions which have applied for Deemed to be University status recently. A meeting of senior officials of the Council and also Department of Higher Education discussed the matter and held the view that all issues regarding to the eligibility of deemed status of these institutions can be verified only through a personal visit .

Vignan Jyothy Engineering College, Annamacharya Engineering College, Gayatri Vidya Parishad, Nova Engineering College and Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH) have applied for Deemed status. The IIPH has the advantage of some stake by the government and it is most likely to be granted as deemed, according to top sources. Vignan Jyothy and Gayatri were also said to be expecting a positive signal from the state government as well as UGC, sources said.

For an institution to be granted deemed status, the preliminary report shall be given by the APSCHE. The council’s report will be forwarded to DHE which would in turn be sent to the UGC. A team of UGC will then pay a field visit, study all the matters and decide on the issue. If granted Deemed status, the institutions will get the freedom to fix up their own fee structure, conduct their own entrance tests and admissions within the framework of UGC guidelines.

The Deemed to be varsities can issue certificates, award degrees or diplomas on their own. It can establish departments of teaching, appoint faculty, award fellowship, scholarship and medals on their own. It can also decide on the terms and conditions of service of staff. It can also frame the responsibilities of their Vice Chancellors and Registrars as well as Deans. It can establish specific schools of study.

The only disadvantage is that the Deemed varsities would not get a chance to claim fee reimbursement given by the state government to the students from economically weaker sections. Sources said that the five institutions have decided to go ahead irrespective of whether they would get reimbursement or not. There are six deemed to be universities in both public and private sectors in AP till now.

They are: GITAM, IIIT-Hyderabad, KL University, Guntur, Satya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Puttaparthi, Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, Tirupathi and ICFAI.

An institution shall complete 15 years of existence to be eligible to apply for Deemed varsity. It should acquire the characteristics of diversity of a university both in teaching, faculty, research and other aspects. It should be periodically accredited by national-level rating agencies like NAAC. It should not just confine itself to a convention-degree milling institution. It should have a range of diverse centres of study. Innovation and Research shall be the key. It should have an excellent campus, remarkable track record of both students and faculty on research and placement fronts. These are the basic things of an institution to be declared as deemed to be university. But, according to a senior official of the APSCHE, except IIPH, none of the other four institutions fulfill the requirements in full measure.