The union HRD ministry on Monday submitted before the Madras high court that the University Grants Commission (UGC) put in place fresh regulations in 2010 to help maintain academic standards and serve the larger interest of the public.
The Chennai-based Sathyabama University and SASTRA University in Thanjavur, as well as nine other private institutions moved appeals challenging the 2010 UGC regulations stipulating that the 44 universities in the country should not use the term university but should use the words “deemed to be” as a prefix.
In the last hearing, the private universities had obtained a stay for an earlier order of a single judge. On August 30, 2011, the judge had dismissed the writ petitions challengeing the regulations.
Appearing for the HRD ministry, senior standing counsel Haja Mohideen Gisthi today presented before the first bench that UGC Regulations (institutions deemed to be universities) 2010 was notified by UGC after taking into consideration the views of an expert committee it appointed and after consulting the central government following the approval of the review committee of academic experts.
Gisthi argued that UGC was justified in framing regulations to help maintain academic standards. Hearing the HRD prayer seeking to vacate the stay and dismissal of the appeals, the first bench referred the matter to a newly-constituted bench of Justices P. Jyothimani and Karuppiah for further hearing.