Editor,
Even though the lid has blown off the CMJ University shop for selling a record number of M.Phil and PhD degrees, it has in no way deterred predatory educational institutes in their efforts to lure students from Meghalaya. Every day we come across half a dozen advertisements in local newspapers from private institutes offering every degree and diploma under the sun with the added inducement of ‘free laptop’, ‘free Thailand trip’, etc to justify the high fees they charge. In some instances, the fee is up to 20 times the cost of a distance learning degree which a student would pay under direct enrolment in a university. Most of these private universities have their own websites with attractive pictures and videos of their ‘world-class infrastructure’. In reality, half of these private colleges and universities operate out of tiny rented premises in large cities. The other half may even possess some of the infrastructure as advertised, but their credentials and accreditation are suspect. Some private universities make tall claims of being ‘UGC recognized’, despite the fact that this prestigious status is yet to be granted by UGC, pending inspection and furnishing of requisite information. Several inspections may take place over a course of several years before approval is finally granted by UGC or, as in most cases, rejected for not meeting quality-related academic and infrastructural parameters. For instance, they need to maintain a certain faculty/student ratio and meet laid-down qualifications for faculty members. They also need to fulfil parameters related to the building, library and other infrastructure. More importantly, the number of students they can admit and fees they can charge are regulated. This however does not prevent them from claiming accreditation to lure students. Such colleges prefer to keep out of the ambit of the regulatory regimes of UGC or AICTE while hoodwinking students into thinking they are getting a regular degree. For that matter, even distance learning cannot be proffered through a regional center or a study center established beyond the territorial jurisdiction of the state in which the university is located, as per a Supreme Court directive.
Today, education is big business and highly lucrative. There are all manner of private educational institutes, foreign and domestic, offering all manner of courses to students. At the very least, private universities are guilty of unleashing a marketing blitz on the unsuspecting public with vague, ambiguous or misleading advertisements. Therefore, unless one is prepared to devote a considerable amount of time to researching colleges and courses, one is in serious danger of being duped by fly-by-night operators. While it is easy to lay the blame squarely on these private operators and demand ‘justice’ when things go wrong, some of the blame must be shared by the parents, guardians and students themselves for not doing their homework or preferring to take the easy route. The latter reason is of greater concern to all of us. It implies that people are okay with paying hefty amounts as capitation or tuition fees to secure a guaranteed degree from colleges with low standards of admission. It implies that people are more concerned about ‘world-class infrastructure’ than with quality of education. It also implies the unspoken ambition to secure a fancy degree from any college at any cost, minus eligibility and hard work. All such factors combined together have contributed to the mushrooming of private institutes of questionable nature who have been quick to seize this opportunity.
There is no simple panacea to the commercialization and debasement of education. There have to be concerted efforts on many fronts, starting with the Meghalaya Private Universities Act to ensure that private universities give an undertaking to attain the regulatory approvals and accreditation within a stipulated time frame. Professional degrees like MBA, BE, B.Tech, Paramedical courses, Nursing, etc. require approvals from their respective professional councils and/or the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE). AICTE has already taken a view that no institution other than a university can start any technical program in any mode without its express approval. Compliance must be ensured through regular monitoring by state authorities. The decrepit MBoSE needs to be either revamped along the lines of CBSE or better still, given a quiet burial in favour of CBSE. The tired-looking NEHU which stopped catering to industry demands many moons ago, deserves a badly-needed overhaul. It has to stop behaving like a distant satellite and converge with the mainstream educational policy of the country as well as cater to the changing demands of industry. Board and university examination timelines should be synchronized with the rest of the country so that our students do not lose out on admission opportunities in top colleges. Any attempt to change examination timelines or lower the bar by vested interests should be firmly rebuffed. Serious endeavour must be made to attract prestigious colleges and institutes from within the country and globally at educational fairs in the state (shouldn’t our MLAs and ministers be doing this job on their domestic tours and foreign jaunts?). Strict norms should be prescribed by the government around who can or cannot participate in educational fairs, which presently is not the case. Lack of quality teachers in government schools has to be addressed. And a whole lot more reforms which have to be addressed by expert committees. But unless we make a start, we will continue to bemoan our fate at the hands of third-rate institutes while they laugh all the way to the bank.
Yours etc.,
Daisy Kharkongor
Shillong