UGC, expert panel against eminence status to Jadavpur, Jamia Hamdard
The Centre had shortlisted both universities to grant them the status of Institutions of Eminence
An expert panel and the University Grants Commission (UGC) have recommended that Jadavpur University and Jamia Hamdard University, which were shortlisted by the Centre for granting Institutions of Eminence (IoE) status, should not be granted the same, according to officials.
Also, the Tamil Nadu government has withdrawn the proposal submitted earlier to confer the status of IoE on Anna University, they said. The Union Ministry of Education is yet to take a call on the recommendations by the Empowered Expert Committee (EEC) and UGC.
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“Jadavpur University, a state public varsity, had initially submitted a proposal with budget outlay of Rs 3,299 crore under the scheme. Subsequently, the ministry had sought financial commitment from the West Bengal government for their share of funds since the scheme has a provision to fund up to Rs 1,000 crore of the proposed outlay only and to ensure continuity of funds for the implementation plans in case of any shortfall,” a top official privy to the development said.
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“However, the same was not agreed to by the West Bengal government and it revised the proposal, first to Rs 1015 crore and then again revised steeply downward to Rs 606 crore with 25 per cent the amount to be generated by the university at its level. Noticing a significant decrease in the budget outlay, the matter was referred to UGC and EEC to examine the proposal afresh and both of them recommended the Ministry of Education to not consider the university for IoE status,” the official added.
No response was available from the three universities on the issue.
(With inputs from agencies)