Unaided Colleges Association seeks CM’s intervention in affiliation issue

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 8

The leading Unaided Colleges Association of Punjab, including the Punjab Unaided Colleges Association (PUCA) and the Punjab Unaided Technical Institutions Association (PUTIA), has urged the Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh, to intervene in the BSc Agriculture approval and affiliation fiasco.

Anshu Kataria, president of the PUCA, and Manjeet Singh, vice-president of the PUTIA, said questioning the degrees of 107 already running institutions has created confusion in the minds of over 15,000 existing students and more than 3,000 to 4,000 students, who have recently taken admissions in these colleges. As much as 70 per cent of students have come from other states, namely Bihar, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and North East, to take admission in these colleges.

The Punjab State Council for Agricultural Education had issued the notice on July 5 warning the students about admissions in these colleges. Kataria said: “On one hand, lakhs of Punjab youth, prefer to go to other countries to pursue higher studies, while on the other, entrepreneurs of Punjab go to other states for getting admissions in the BSc agriculture course. With this notification, admissions of students from other states will become doubtful in the future as well. When students from other states secure admission in Punjab colleges, the government earns a revenue in crores as students spend a huge sum of money for his education and living.”

Kataria added that when one affiliating university, may it be IKG-PTU, Jalandhar; MRS-PTU, Bathinda or Punjabi University, Patiala, had given the approval to run BSc Agriculture course in a five-acre land, then how a new body can increase the land requirement to 50 acres? Kataria questioned why a college needed to buy more 45 acres land to run a course in a land-lock state like Punjab?

Manjeet said: “We are affiliated with the state affiliating universities such as IKG-PTU, MRS-PTU and Punjabi University and are following all norms of these degree-granting universities. These new rules should be applicable to new colleges not existing.”

Notice issued to agri institutes by Punjab State Council for Agricultural Education 

On July 5, the Punjab State Council for Agricultural Education had introduced strict norms. Last year, the council had served notices to various institutes and asked them to submit a status report with regard to admission, affiliation and curriculum. Of the 107 institutes, as many as 82 had failed to submit the report. Students were warned against taking admission in such institutes.

The notice reads: “Students may take admission in these institutions at their own risk and cost because non-affiliation/non-approval of these institutes on account of failure to comply with provisions of the Act shall render degrees/diplomas/certificates issued by the institutes invalid.” 

Five private universities, including Lovely Professional University, Shri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Chandigarh University, DAV University and Sant Baba Bhag Singh University and 20 colleges, figured in another list of 25 institutes that had submitted the report but do not fulfil the conditions as per the Act.