HRD Ministry Constitutes Three-Member Panel to Regulate Deemed Universities

On December 4, 2017, the Ministry of Human Resource and Development constituted a three-member committee to examine and understand the working of deemed universities. The responsibility of the committee is to recommend an ‘oversight’ and ‘regulatory mechanism’ for deemed universities. The HRD Ministry has set a four-month deadline for the committee to submit its recommendations.

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The members of the panel constituted by HRD Ministry for examining deemed universities are: -

• Chief Justice of Patna High Court, L. Narasimhan Reddy (Head of the Panel)
• Chairperson of All India Council for Technical Education, Mr. Anil Sahasrabuddhe
• Addition Secretary of HRD Ministry, Mr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu

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HRD Ministry formed the three-member panel at the behest of Supreme Court. In an order issued by the apex court on November 3, 2017, the court pointed that the University Grants Commission (UGC) failed to regulate the deemed universities. Therefore, it recommended the government to constitute a panel comprising eminent members who have held top positions in the field of law, administration, investigation and education at national level. The court set a deadline to constitute the committee within one month. According to SC, the committee must examine different issues pertaining to deemed universities, distance education and suggest a regulatory mechanism for them.

Based on the suggestions made by the committee, HRD Ministry will take necessary action on deemed universities. It is the responsibility of the government to file an affidavit in Supreme Court regarding the action taken. August 31, 2018, is the deadline for the government to submit an affidavit.