UGC draft guidelines: UGC Draft Guidelines not applicable to PGDM B schools
Sailesh Sampathy, Vice President & Deputy Chief Executive of Siva Sivani Group, Secunderabad shares his views regarding the controversy which has erupted after the UGCs new draft guidelines to regulate technical colleges.
The controversy which erupted after the UGCs new draft guidelines to regulate thousands of technical colleges including engineering and management schools doesnt seem to be drying down. The organizations like EPSI, Business Schools Association, AIMS and FAMPEI criticized the guidelines with EPSI meeting with the Union HRD Minister Pallam Raju on December 16, 2013 to persuade him to extend the deadline for collecting the feedback on the draft UGC guidelines. However Sailesh Sampathy, Vice President & Deputy Chief Executive of Siva Sivani Group, Secunderabad has a different take on the controversy. In a column written for MBAUniverse.com he says, PGDM B Schools or the education sector associations like the EPSI and AIMS need not do anything about these guidelines in so far as PGDM B schools are concerned, as they are not applicable to PGDM B Schools. The column follows.
The so called new guidelines issued by the UGC (Draft) seem to be a cut paste of the existing AICTE guidelines. For instance point 1.7 of Annexure A of the UGC draft guidelines is a cut and paste of point 1.6 of Chapter 1 of the AICTE approval process hand book with the only change being the substitution of the word AICTE with University. Point 2 of Chapter 1 of the AICTE approval process handbook is reproduced along with the point and sub point nos. as point 2 and sub points in point 2 of Annexure A of the draft UGC guidelines, substituting the word AICTE with University.
A cursory reading of all the draft guidelines of the UGC with a simultaneous reading of the AICTE approval process handbook will reveal that there is no notable difference between the two. One is as good or bad as the other. The proposed guidelines that the UGC wishes to adopt are those already in existence and hence should not cause any further harm or otherwise than those of the AICTE.
It seems as if the AICTE has been discharging the functions of the UGC/Universities hitherto which originally ought to have been done by the UGC/Universities. As far as individual, affiliated institutions are concerned, they would report to the authority of the UGC through the concerned University, as envisaged by the UGC Act, instead of the AICTE.
Section 2 (f) of the UGC Act says University means a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act, and includes any such institution as may, in consultation with the University concerned, be recoginsed by the Commission in accordance with the regulations made in this behalf under this Act and Section 3 of the UGC Act says The Central Government may, on the advice of the Commission, declare by notification in the Official Gazette, that any institution for higher education, other than a University, shall be deemed to be a University for the purposes of this Act, and on such a declaration being made, all the provisions of this Act shall apply to such institution as if it were a University within the meaning of clause (f) of section 2. Since PGDM institutions are not degree awarding institutions and have been approved by an authority (AICTE) that came into existence by a separate Central act, the UGC in its present form cannot exercise any authority over them. Therefore, the question of these guidelines having an impact on the PGDM institutions does not arise, more so, when these guidelines with respect to MBA colleges have already been in existence, albeit under a different authority.
PGDM B Schools or the education sector associations like the EPSI and AIMS need not do anything about these guidelines in so far as PGDM B schools are concerned, as they are not applicable to PGDM B Schools. These new regulations, after they are adopted may be applicable to those institutions which run both MBA and PGDM programmes. The application would only be to the extent of MBA institution and not PGDM even in these cases. However, these associations may take up the matter with the UGC for amendment of these regulations if it is made out that these same regulations under the AICTE have stunted the growth of the MBA institutions and or have not helped in setting up and maintaining quality management education in these institutions in the past.
The author, Sailesh Sampathy is Vice President & Dy. Chief Executive of Siva Sivani Group, Secunderabad.
Siva Sivani Institute of Management is promoted by the Siva Sivani Educational Society, which has been running the well known Siva Sivani Public Schools for more than four decades. Approved by the AICTE, Siva Sivani Institute of Management started functioning in 1992, and is ranked amongst the leading B-schools in Andhra Pradesh.
MBAUniverse.com will keep you posted on this important development. Stay tuned
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