Edu-leaders

The Madras High Court has ruled that the UGC has the right to continuously impose conditions to make deemed universities maintain their quality as institutions of higher learning.

Justice K Chandru, dismissing petitions filed by 14 deemed to be universities and Tamil Nadu Deemed Universities Association challenging the UGC (institutions to be deemed Universities) Regulations 2010, said the institutions had willingly executed a memorandum agreeing to abide by the UGC guidelines and could not now go back on it.

The court said the concept of the trust founder or founder having power to bring his family members does not arise after having established the trust or society.

"Once a trust is established, the role of founder is not of a proprietor but to maintain the objectives and ideals for which the trust is formed. The founder is only a trustee and not proprietor."

Justice Chandru rejected the argument that family members of the founder, who has invested a huge amount in building the institution, could not be prevented from holding the post of chancellors and pro-chancellors.

He said the objective of the trust was to run educational institutions of higher learning and not to have direct or remote control over the said institutions.

"Control by family members will negate the very purpose of learning and jeopardise autonomy of the institutions, besides leading to an undesirable result as found out by a review committee appointed by the Centre," he said.

The UGC's review committee said the number of Deemed Universities had increased from seven in 1970 to 130 in 2010. Out of these, 87 had got the status of a university. Family members control the institutions, leading to undesirable practice for management of the universities.

Out of the 130 deemed to be universities, only 38 could justify themselves as deemed universities. All the 14 petitioners were not on the list of the 38 deemed universities.