NEWS reports on Monday said nearly half of the country’s 84 private universities are functioning without Vice-Chancellors and are mostly run by acting VCs. Moreover, sixty-nine of the institutions has no pro-VC and 50 have no Treasurer. Shockingly, all three posts lie vacant at 25 private universities. Only five have all three top posts filled. Most of them have not their own campuses, there is a total chaos, according to a list the University Grants Commission (UGC) released on August 21.
It is really sad how all such universities are functioning taking hefty tuition fees from students and yet they have no proper functional system. We know that wealthy powerful people with strong political backing have set up these institutions essentially as a business. They have quickly become alternative to students who don’t get seat at public universities but it can’t be acceptable that they will go without their important posts vacant over longer time. It is not possible for individual parents to demand explanation of such neglect, but they must be invariably held responsible for cheating parents and students by not running those universities properly.
It is also noticeable that the tenure of the VC in many universities has already expired, but they are operating as acting VC. It is shame that almost all such VCs are very loyal to the Board of Trustees of these universities to serve their interest whether or not they are fair and they protect students’ interest. One such reason to keep the posts vacant is that in many cases, the Board of Trustees doesn’t find candidates loyal to them. But laws say they must get VCs approval from the Chancellor within one month of falling the post vacant. But the law has remained by and large in abeyance while some universities are taking advantage of it to keep the acting VCs in their posts. There are many others who simply do not follow any rule. Besides, the Board of Trustees, in many cases, is reluctant to appoint Vice-Chancellor and Pro-Vice-Chancellor to exercise direct control over the University Administration. It is harming students and the quality of their education.
Private universities as they started functioning from 1992 were playing significant role in accommodating a large number of students to pursue higher education. But overtime they tended to ignore most conditions set out by laws. Notably, in most cases, the owners being politically or financially influential people have managed permission on political grounds and they are not fulfilling even basic conditions to run those universities.
We must say that the UGC, which is constitutionally authorized to monitor those universities, should have the practical authority also to force them to run properly and have their own campuses, libraries and laboratory facilities. They must have effective administrators and teaching staff to end the chaos.
