Ranchi: Governor Ramesh Bais said that education should not be taken as a business at all as there is no justification for such an education system in the interest of the students. He said that it is a matter of surprise and shock that the private universities established in the state are not fulfilling the criteria set by the UGC and the government. He said that without the permission of UGC, private universities start various courses and distribute degrees to the students but by doing this they are only playing with the future of the students. The Governor was reviewing the academic and administrative activities of various private universities located in the state at Raj Bhawan on Friday.
In this review meeting, Additional Chief Secretary, Higher and Technical Education Department K K Khandelwal, Additional Chief Secretary to Governor Shailesh Kumar Singh and Vice Chancellors of various private universities located in the state were present. The Governor directed all private universities to fulfill the criteria set by UGC and Government at the earliest. He said that all private universities should keep in mind the paramount sense of student interest. He said that today many private universities are opening in every state.
Referring to Chhattisgarh he said that since the practice of granting recognition for the opening of private universities started, more than 125 universities were opened in Chhattisgarh in 2001, even some universities were being run from hotels. He took up the matter seriously in the interest of the students. The result was that private universities operated without UGC and government norms were closed and within two months only 6 universities were left. The Governor said that all private universities should provide quality education to their students so that they can get respectable employment. He stressed improving the teacher-student ratio in universities.
The Governor said that it is ironic that many private universities have neither their own building nor sufficient land even after getting recognition so many years ago. He directed all private universities to make arrangements for separate toilets for girl students and differently-abled. He directed the construction of ramps for the differently-abled at the earliest. The Governor said that being the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment of the Lok Sabha, during the study of the Disability Bill, he visited many cities and met Divyangjans across the country listened to them and saw their talents and so he understands the need of ramps for the handicapped. He said that the universities should pay serious attention to providing employment to the women here at the local level.
Additional Chief Secretary, Higher and Technical Education Department KK Khandelwal said that the Governor is concerned about the development of higher education in the state. He is constantly striving for this and give his constant guidance for comprehensive improvement in the field of higher education.