New Delhi: A parliamentary committee has urged the center to consider allowing deemed universities in the nation to use the term ‘University’. This proposal has been initiated to avoid confusion abroad as most foreign countries do not use such a nomenclature. The report was prepared by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports in an amendment of clause 23 of the UGC Act, 1956. The report suggested for the deemed universities shed the prefix. 

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The committee said in its report, “The Committee recommends that the Government give an active consideration to the demand that deemed universities be allowed to use the term ‘university’ by amending Clause 23 of the UGC Act, 1956 which states that no institution, other than a university established or incorporated by a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act is entitled to use the word ‘University’, as the term ‘deemed university’ creates a lot of confusion in foreign countries as there is no concept of deemed university in many parts of the world.”

The interesting fact that lies here is that this initiative is also one of the recommendations made in the National Education Policy, 2020. The report – “Review of education standards, accreditation process, research, examination reforms and academic environment in Deemed/Private Universities/other Higher Education Institutions” – also makes a strong pitch for streamlining the accreditation process of higher education institutions.

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The committee, chaired by BJP Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, has observed that only 30% of the universities and 20% of the colleges are accredited in India. “There is a long way to go as, out of 50,000 colleges, there were less than 9,000 colleges who are accredited,” it noted.

In his submission before the committee, Higher Education Secretary K Sanjay Murthy said that the proposed Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) will have a vertical on accreditation. “Thus, the roadmap is clearly defined and they will be going towards that procedure,” he told the committee, according to the report.