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Round The States
New Delhi, 21 January 2010
44 Deemed Univs
‘Blacklisted’
HIGHER EDUCATION IN
DOLDRUMS
By Insaf
Higher education in the country has received a rude shock
with fly-by-night operators making a killing in a number of States. On Monday
last, the Human Resource Development Ministry informed the Supreme Court that
44 universities would be de-recognised, spelling uncertainty for nearly two
lakh students! Tamil Nadu heads the list with 16 such universities, followed by
Karnataka which has six, Uttar Pradesh four, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan
and Maharashtra three each, Gujarat, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi
and Bihar one each. The revelation follows HRD
Minister Kapil Sibal setting up a three-member review committee to look into
accusations of hasty approvals being given to a number of universities under
UPA-I. It now comes to light that 27 of these 44 Universities were conferred
the deemed tag under former HRD Minister Arjun Singh. Worse, three are
government sponsored and one promoted by the then Minister of State for Information
and Broadcasting. A number of these have received funds from the University
Grants Commission.
The deemed universities have shockingly revealed a lack of
infrastructure and no little evidence of experts in disciplines they claim to
specialize in. The probe has even shown that a few are simply five-room universities
and their glossy catalogues mere fiction. Records disclose that between 1956
and 1990 only 29 institutions were granted the status of ‘deemed-to-be universities’
by the Central government but in the last five years as many as 35 have been
granted this status. The big question is who gave the approvals that are now
shown to be faulty? The future of lakhs of youth is at stake and signs of
growing unrest have been witnessed in Tamil Nadu for starters, where students
ransacked furniture, laboratories and broke window panes in a couple of
blacklisted universities in Chennai. There is need for a thorough inquiry and punishment
to the guilty, notwithstanding Sibal’s assurance to the students that “none
would suffer.” He has assured that their colleges would be given affiliation to
the State universities or some other universities and valid degrees. Will this
suffice?
* * * *
Himachal Makes
Literacy Strides
While higher education has received a setback in some
States, Himachal Pradesh has made impressive strides in promoting primary
education. The State Economics and Statistics Department has noted that the
State has achieved almost 83 per cent literacy rate, next only to Kerala, the
most literate State in the country (literacy rate of 91 per cent), followed by
Mizoram which has 89 per cent. The strides made by the state are thanks to
better infrastructure. The State has 1.74 schools for a population of one lakh,
against the national average of 0.74 schools. The BJP government, led by PK
Dhumal has ensured that there is a school at a distance of less than two kms in
the rural areas because of the State’s treacherous terrain, a big hurdle. Importantly,
the dropout rate in the State capital, Simla has come to zero, despite a number
of rural areas falling in the district. If all goes well, Himachal claims that
if it retains its annual growth rate it could well over-take Kerala by
2011-end.
* * * *
Maoists Worried in
West Bengal
West Bengal continues to dominate the headlines. First it
was the passing away of the great communist icon Jyoti Basu, with whose death
an era has ended. Thereafter, the appointment of former National Security
Advisor M K Narayanan as Governor of the State attracted great attention. In
view of his unrivalled experience, he is expected to provide leadership in
tackling the growing terrorist threat over the past year. The Maoists alone
have protested against his appointment and their leader Koteshwar Rao, alias
Kishenji has called for a mass movement. In fact, it is for the first time that
the Maoists have shown concern over an appointment to the Governor’s office.
Meanwhile, Union Railway Minister and Trinamool Chief Mamata Banerjee has
offered to hold talks with the Maoists and mediate between them and the Centre.
“Give up violence and let us talk development”, she has urged. While there is
no response from the Maoists, the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities
(PCAPA) has indicated its willingness to negotiate, but only with the TMC’s
estranged MP Kabir Suman, who sings and highlights the lack of development in
Maoist-dominated areas.
* * * *
Bonanza For Poor In
UP
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP supremo Mayawati celebrated
her 54th birthday differently this January 15. The focus was shifted
from herself to the downtrodden and the deprived. On last Friday, observed as
“People’s Welfare Day,” Behenji announced
264 new public welfare measures worth Rs 7312 crores. Other than building 111
new bridges, nearly 50 new roads, bus stations etc, the State Cabinet approved the
“Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mahamaya Garib Arthik Madad Yojana”, under which Rs
300 would be deposited in the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. The
recipients would be selected through open meetings in gram sabhas and urban
areas under the supervision of the DMs. Promising complete transparency,
Mayawati explained that objections would be invited and the final list would be
declared only after thorough examination. She hoped that her ‘birthday gift’
would fulfil the needs of the poor and the needy.
* * * *
Madhya Pradesh Goes
“Decent”
Obscene hoardings have caught the eye of Madhya Pradesh
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. He wants none of it in his State. On
Tuesday last, the BJP leader ordered the removal of all such “indecent” hoardings
forthwith. This follows his attention being caught by a hoarding advertising
chocolate body spa near a girls’ college in Bhopal while he was on his way to
the party headquarters. He stopped his cavalcade and not only ordered that the
hoarding be removed but an FIR lodged against the owner of the beauty clinic. The
State administration got cracking and a day later through a video conference
directed officials to remove obscene hoardings in more than 350 urban bodies. Chouhan’s
“anti-obscenity” drive has also been taken forward by the Sanskriti Bachao
Manch, a right wing body, whose members forced shopkeepers in the busy New
Market locality to move mannequins displaying lingerie as these were
“objectionable.” Indeed, Chouhan has undertaken a new role for himself –of
moral policing.
* * * *
Modi’s “Appearance
Fee”
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi can boast of being no
less than a Bollywood star. He charges a handsome “celebrity appearance fee” of
Rs seven lakhs and above at public functions. But more importantly, it is all
for a cause. The princely sum is donated to the Kanya Kelavani Nidhi, created for educating the girl child in
Gujarat. Other than scholarships being given to bright young girls, the fund
disburses bonds of Rs 1000 each to help support the education of lakhs of
girls. Additionally, a part of the collection goes to the Chief Minister’s
relief fund, which has seen an inflow of Rs 104 crore ever since Modi took
over. In the past five years, his office has collected a whopping Rs 23 crore
from his public functions. While a major part comes from donations, depending
on the paying capacity of the organizers of functions, a considerable amount is
raised by auctioning gift articles which Modi has received. This January alone,
the BJP Chief Minister has inaugurated about 20 such events. Clearly, Modi has
been cashing on his popularity literally!---INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature
Alliance)
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