The Big Picture | The problems with the “deemed to be” tag on universities and the recommendation to remove it

Heads of deemed universities welcomed the move, which is also one of the recommendations of the National Education Policy, 2020.

What is the “deemed university” tag and why is it used?

 Dr Bhushan Patwardhan, former UGC Vice-chairman and Chairman of the National Accreditation and Amendment Council (NAAC)’s executive committee, explained that the “deemed to be” or “deemed university” tag was given to universities that were not originally established as universities but were given that status.

“The tag university is used by institutions that were established under the Central, Provincial or State Acts as such. But there were institutions which achieved excellence in their chosen fields. Looking at the performance of those institutions, it was thought that they are fit to be or deemed to be universities.”

Using the provisions of Section 3 of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, the first deemed university -IISc Bangalore -was created on May 12, 1958.

Currently, there are 126 deemed universities across the country at the moment, including top-ranking institutions like BITS Pilani, Manipal Institute of Higher Education and the Vellore Institute of Technology. Tamil Nadu has 28 deemed universities, the maximum in the country.

What are the issues with the tag?

According to educationists, the tag questions the credibility of an institution, particularly when it comes to foreign collaborations.

Vidya Yeravdekar, pro-chancellor, Symbiosis International (Deemed to be) University, said: “Nowhere in the world is this kind of nomenclature used. It is either a university or not, there is no in-between. When we approach some foreign universities today for collaboration, they doubt our status and ask us to clarify if we are a recognized university or not. Our ex-students, who seek admissions in foreign universities, are asked if they studied at a proper university or not. See any rankings today, some of the best institutes are deemed universities. We want to remove this tag because it creates doubt over our credibility which is unfair.”

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports has echoed this view in its recent report, in which it has recommended an amendment of clause 23 of the UGC Act, 1956 to let the deemed universities shed the prefix. “The Committee recommends that the Government give an active consideration to the demand that deemed universities be allowed to use the term ‘university’ by amending Clause 23 of the UGC Act, 1956 which states that no institution, other than a university established or incorporated by a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act is entitled to use the word ‘University’, as the term ‘deemed university’ creates a lot of confusion in foreign countries as there is no concept of deemed university in many parts of the world,” the committee has said in its report.

Additionally, the allotment of the ‘deemed’ tag becomes complicated as different states have acts under which private universities are established.

In this set-up, some institutions under the state law can become universities, but those established under Section 3 of the UGC Act might not, Yeravdekar points out.

Patwardhan also noted that the tag “university” brings much-needed “autonomy in  academics, governance and several areas”.

How have institutions tried to get rid of the tag?

In 2006, institutions were allowed to drop the deemed tag and identify themselves as universities, following a recommendation by a committee comprising heads of UGC, All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) and a former secretary of higher education.

However, a petition was filed in the Delhi High Court by a professor against the decision, which claimed that the notification had created confusion between a university established under an Act of Parliament or state legislature and a deemed university set up under the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.

Following this, the HRD ministry under Arjun Singh, asked the UGC to withdraw the notification, which directed the deemed universities to drop the university tag.