Against UGC stand, HRD ministry writes to CAG for audit of deemed universities

NEW DELHI: Going against the advice and stand taken by the University Grants Commission ( UGC), the human resources development ministry has written to the Comptroller and Auditor General asking if it can audit 85 privately run institutions that are deemed to be universities.

The ministry and the UGC are caught in a tussle over the legality of auditing private deemed varsities that receive no government funding. The HRD ministry is now learnt to have taken the matter up itself with the CAG, citing the provisions in the UGC regulations and seeking to know if it is possible to conduct the audit. Of the 120-odd deemed universities, the Centre fully funds three government-run varsities and partially funds about 20 private ones. About 85 are completely privately run. The CAG usually runs its scrutiny on the finances of those institutions that receive big government funding.

The HRD ministry claims that the move towards auditing is in keeping with the 2010 Deemed University Regulations, which provide for a CAG audit of all deemed to be universities. The ministry has argued that the 2010 regulations do not make any distinction between private and government-funded deemed universities and hence all of them uniformly attract its provisions.

The move is also aimed at ensuring greater quality control and checking unfair financial practices at private varsities. However, attempting a CAG audit is viewed by some quarters as the government excessively tightening its control and influence. The ministry had last year written to the UGC recommending an audit of all 120 institutions deemed to be universities.