Corporate junior colleges: are they business conglomerates or educational institutions?

Hyderabad: Does anyone know under what rules each of the Corporate educational institutions function? At the time of admissions, parents are handed over a list of high fees under different heads, but no one knows whether they are registered under the Society act of trust act or which act.

Speaking to The Hans India, sources in the Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education said that some corporate junior colleges are formed under the Society's act and trust act.

But they said the corporate junior colleges use designations like 'Director', 'General Manager, 'Managing Director and the like for the officials responsible for running their institutions. Generally, these designations have been used in the entities formed under the companies act.

Similarly, designations like 'Dean', 'Professor' and the like are designations used on the academic side in higher educational institutions and the universities. But the corporate junior colleges do have similar nomenclature used like 'dean', 'executive dean' and a host of others.

When asked, as TSBIE official pointed out, in the case of one popular corporate junior college that claims to have been in existence for the past 40 years, the faculty shown working in the college for TSBIE affiliation is different from those who come to teach.

There are two kinds of faculty working, some are shown as teaching faculty. Their entire duty is restricted only to overseeing the implementation of the course delivery and time schedules, and correction of papers. The faculty hired paying salaries in lakhs are the real ones who handle the classes like Mathematics, Physics and the like important to pass the entrance tests.

Further, some faculty are paid salaries from the societies and few others from a management services arm of the same corporate junior college formed under the companies act.

"Which society is running the college taking affiliation, which entity is collecting fees and paying salaries- all this shrouded in a mystery. Operations and running of numerous branches of the corporate junior colleges go under the brand name of 'Group of Institutions, said an official from the State Education Department," they said.

The entire operations are run purely like a business conglomerate as against the norms in force that treats education as a service and not a business. However, who will bell the cat to ensure that they follow the education act, norms, rules and regulations of the TSBIE remains unanswered, the officials rue.