UGC says 'no' to false information by colleges

Hyderabad: Parents and students can now lodge complaints against the Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) under the UGC (Grievance Redressal) Regulations, 2012 if any misleading information provided by them.

A new direction of the University Grants Commission (UGC) sent to different universities in the State says that the HEIs and colleges running in the government and private sectors will have to upload all the information related to them on their websites.

Speaking to The Hans India, a senior official from Osmania University said the results regarding posting details on the HEI websites were already in force. "The institutions should upload the details in the form of mandatory disclosure.

However, it is not strictly complied by many affiliated colleges and institutions," he added. Expressing a similar view, official sources in the office of the Registrar of Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad (JNTU-H) said, "The university regularly reminds the technical and management institutions affiliated to the JNTU-H to comply with the mandatory disclosure rules besides, the affiliation rules of the university."

But, institutions with inhouse staff looking after the maintenance of their websites or portals are quick to respond. Problems are faced in case of some institutions outsourced their online presence, he pointed out.

Earlier, the UGC direction mandated the institutions to update the details related to the accreditations, ratings, affiliation, basic amenities like laboratories, hostels, classrooms, library, sports and recreation, medical facilities, faculty and fee details, placements etc. The new direction further asked the institutions to post the supporting evidence to the credentials they are claiming.

The evidence should be in the form of documents, photographs and videos. Also, they will have to introduce the element of geotagging while disclosing the details like basic amenities, hostels, medical facilities, infrastructure and other physical assets.

The main objective to ensure that the students and parents make an informed decision whether to take admission in a particular institution based on the details uploaded on the HEI website.

The UGC already has put in place mandatory disclosure rules. Rules related to the student entitlements, return of fee and non-retention of certificate rules. The new directive from the UGC made the information disclosure more transparent.