Telangana varsities denied IoE tag

Hyderabad: Disappointed over losing out in the run for getting the tag of Institution of Eminence (IoE), senior faculty members and administrators in the State universities in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh State are voicing disagreement with the criteria and selection process.

According to the sources in the State Council of Higher Education of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh State, "Osmania University from Telangana State and Andhra University from Andhra Pradesh have got 'A-plus' grade in the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) award. This made both the universities qualified to apply for the IoE."

It may be mentioned here that the universities selected for IoE tag will get special funding of Rs 1,000 crore for five years. Or, up to 70 per cent funding of the total cost of the project submitted.

Accordingly, the Osmania University had submitted a project proposal to the tune of Rs 1,447 and the Andhra University had submitted a proposal with an estimated cost of about Rs 1,200 crore. However, both the universities have missed the bus.

Speaking to The Hans India, a senior official from the Osmania Univerity said as many as 104 higher educational institutions comprising Central universities, State universities, IIT and private universities have competed for the IoE ranking.

But, "Jadavpur University from West Bengal is the only State university among the 10 universities ranked with IoE. All other institutions are either Central universities or IITs and the like," he said.

Also, the Central universities, IITs, IIMs NITs and the like are unitary institutions. On the other, State universities are affiliated universities, each, having hundreds of colleges running several courses under their jurisdiction.

Besides, there is no dearth of funds for either Central universities or IITs. So, both the Central institutes and the State universities differ on several yardsticks.

Clubbing them would always place the majority of the State universities at the receiving end. It was against this backdrop that the Minister of HRD or UGC should give a hand-holding or adopt a certain number of State universities.

This will empower the State universities to come up in terms of quality and standards, and to scale up and achieve global standards, which is the objective of the IoE, he said.

Clarifying on the issue, Andhra University Vice-Chancellor, Prof P V G D Prasad Reddy said efforts are on to submit a letter with a revised plan of action to the Empowered Expert Committee with a request to reconsider the university's application for IoE tag.