BANGALORE: Are private universities a boon or bane? This was discussed at a round table conference organised by the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishat (ABVP) on Wednesday.
“There is a huge demand pressure as against supply. The kind of courses, colleges and universities that students want to get in to are perceived as low in standard. This is where the state universities are getting crippled. Where the pressure is coming from becomes secondary,” opined Prof R S Deshpande, director, Institute of Social and Economic Change (ISEC).
He added that branding in education field was creating inequity in access to education by all.
“When it comes to private universities, I think we are sitting on a time bomb,” he said. Director of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) Prof H A Ranganath quashed the question of smooth transition to facilitate entry of private universities.
“That does not arise, as higher education is already in the hands of the private sector. Private universities have to come up only if the government institutions are convinced that they cannot deliver the goods,” he said.
He further raised a question that cuts to the heart of the topic - of Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER).
“Is there a guarantee that adding more private universities will help increase the current GER?” he questioned.