New Delhi:
The Centre's move to strip 44 educational institutions across 13 states of their deemed university status has left more than 2 lakh students on the edge. (Read: Centre to derecognise 44 deemed universities)
Despite government assurances that no student will be left in the lurch, many questions linger over the roadmap for students in these institutions. (Read: What is a Deemed University?)
HRD minister Kapil Sibal sought to allay fears of many such students on NDTV's show Your Call. Here's an excerpt from the interview.
NDTV: There seems to be a sense of panic created among students and parents of deemed universities across the country. But you believe in scrapping the policy?
Kapil Sibal: It's completely wrong. What we have said is that none of the deemed universities have lost their status as of now. We set up a task force that gave its report and we accepted the recommendations. We have filed an affidavit in the High Court. And so proceedings will take place in the Court. Future actions will be taken in due course. As of now, nobody has lost their status. As a part of the task force exercise, when the findings reached us a couple of months ago, we called the task force members and said: Look it's not good enough, because if you have to take action on this report, then we need to make sure that no student's future gets jeopardized. If some deemed universities lose their status, the students studying must receive the university degree. So please give us a plan of action to ensure student interests are protected.
NDTV: So, it is the government's responsibility.
Kapil Sibal: It will be our responsibility to make sure they are adjusted. Several stakeholders have to play a significant role in this and we are sure that we will persuade one of them to do so.
NDTV: This was cleared in Arjun Singh's regime. It was cleared in UPA-1. So how come UPA-2 reversed it?
Kapil Sibal: We are not reversing decisions; we are only concerned about quality of education.
NDTV: Many students have asked why you didn't initiate an investigation against people who cleared it in the first place.
Kapil Sibal: Sonia, we are interested in the career of the student. If I spend my next 5 years investigating what happened in the past, India will not move forward. Not all blacklisted universities were cleared during UPA-1. We are interested in ensuring quality education to our children; we are not here to see what happened in the last 10 years. We are interested in moving forward, not prosecuting people.
Watch the full interview on Your Call, Sunday at 9:30 pm on NDTV 24x7.
Despite government assurances that no student will be left in the lurch, many questions linger over the roadmap for students in these institutions. (Read: What is a Deemed University?)
HRD minister Kapil Sibal sought to allay fears of many such students on NDTV's show Your Call. Here's an excerpt from the interview.
NDTV: There seems to be a sense of panic created among students and parents of deemed universities across the country. But you believe in scrapping the policy?
Kapil Sibal: It's completely wrong. What we have said is that none of the deemed universities have lost their status as of now. We set up a task force that gave its report and we accepted the recommendations. We have filed an affidavit in the High Court. And so proceedings will take place in the Court. Future actions will be taken in due course. As of now, nobody has lost their status. As a part of the task force exercise, when the findings reached us a couple of months ago, we called the task force members and said: Look it's not good enough, because if you have to take action on this report, then we need to make sure that no student's future gets jeopardized. If some deemed universities lose their status, the students studying must receive the university degree. So please give us a plan of action to ensure student interests are protected.
NDTV: So, it is the government's responsibility.
Kapil Sibal: It will be our responsibility to make sure they are adjusted. Several stakeholders have to play a significant role in this and we are sure that we will persuade one of them to do so.
NDTV: This was cleared in Arjun Singh's regime. It was cleared in UPA-1. So how come UPA-2 reversed it?
Kapil Sibal: We are not reversing decisions; we are only concerned about quality of education.
NDTV: Many students have asked why you didn't initiate an investigation against people who cleared it in the first place.
Kapil Sibal: Sonia, we are interested in the career of the student. If I spend my next 5 years investigating what happened in the past, India will not move forward. Not all blacklisted universities were cleared during UPA-1. We are interested in ensuring quality education to our children; we are not here to see what happened in the last 10 years. We are interested in moving forward, not prosecuting people.
Watch the full interview on Your Call, Sunday at 9:30 pm on NDTV 24x7.
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