IN A fresh twist to the stand-off between the Centre and Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) in Pilani, a clarification provided by the HRD Ministry has prompted the Rajasthan government to discontinue its attestation of degrees, diplomas and certificates awarded by the institution’s off-campus centres in Hyderabad and Goa. BITS-Pilani has been at loggerheads with UGC — the higher education regulator operating under the HRD Ministry — over the latter’s notice sent on November 9, 2015, directing the engineering school, along with nine other deemed universities, to shut down their off-campus centres on the ground that they were set up without its permission and, hence, violate the Deemed University Regulations. BITS-Pilani, subsequently, went to Delhi High Court, which asked UGC to not take any coercive action. According to sources, Raj Hans Upadhyay, additional chief secretary of Rajasthan government, wrote to the Centre’s higher education secretary, V S Oberoi, last month seeking clarity on whether the state could continue validating degrees/certificates/diplomas of graduates from the BITS-Pilani branches in Goa and Hyderabad. The state government received the ministry’s response last week in which it has flagged that two off-campus centres are unapproved by the UGC, implying that attestation could be inappropriate. This could mean trouble for students, as authentication of academic documents is usually mandatory for those who want to study or work abroad. Prof S C Sivasubramanian, acting Registrar of BITS-Pilani, told The Indian Express, “We are aware of the problem being faced by the students. The Court has asked UGC to not take any coercive action. Since the matter is sub-judice, we have requested the Rajasthan government to continue with the status quo and attest documents.” Upadhyay and Oberoi could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts by The Indian Express. A senior official of the Rajasthan government, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “We received the (Centre’s) letter a few days ago. The nature of their response makes it obvious that we should not authenticate degrees of institutes whose legality is sub-judice. So how can we do it?” BITS-Pilani was declared as an institution deemed to be a university under section 3 of the UGC Act in 1964. It is considered among the best private engineering institutes in the country and was placed at number 95 in the QS rankings in 2015 among universities in the BRICS countries, and between 201 and 250 among those in Asia. BITS-Pilani established full-fledged campuses in Goa in 2004 and in Hyderabad in 2008. There are about 600 to 700 students currently pursuing undergraduate programmes in each of the two off-campus centres. The institute, after receiving the UGC’s notice last year, had taken the regulator to court on the ground that the establishment of the Goa and Hyderabad centres pre-dates the Deemed University Regulations, which are prospective in nature. Therefore, BITS maintains that it is beyond the legal power of the UGC to issue such a notice.
