University Grants Commissions has finally approved the Birla Institutes of Technology and Science (BITS) branches in Hyderabad and Goa. The decision regarding these branches was on hold for the past three years. HRD held back the BIT’s Letter of Intent (LoI) due to its standoff with the UGC over the legality of Hyderabad and Goa campuses. Also, BITS was selected along with Jio Institute and Manipal Academy of Higher Education for the IoE status.
According to the reports, HRD Ministry may soon issue a notification granting the regularisation of BITS off campus in Goa and Hyderabad. If this happens, BITS Pilani will be eligible for the Institute of Eminence (IoE) status.
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The Union Cabinet had approved UGC’s Institutions of Eminence Deemed to be Universities Regulation 2017. The regulations aim to create an architecture for 10 public and 10 private institutions so that they are at par with other world-class institutions. This is because India has little representation in the international ranking of higher educational institutions.
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BITS was directed by UGC to shut down its off campuses centres in Goa and Hyderabad as they were set up without the UGC’s permission and violating the UGC Regulations 2016. The institute went to Delhi High Court to and argued that both the Goa and Hyderabad campuses were established in 2004 and 2008.