Panel report highlights ‘malpractices’ in Indus varsity working

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 14

The Indus International University, Una, has violated the sanctity, secrecy and ethics of examinations. Malpractices have been followed by the university and its employees, compromising the quality of higher education.

UGC norms violated

• It was found that four employees were working as assistant examination, assistant controller of Examination (COE)-cum-enterprise resource planning (ERP), assistant administrative officer and network administrator during the course of their studies.
• All the four employees were holding administrative positions in the university directly linked with examination, management and administration.
•  The university allowed its employees to pursue PG courses which is contrary to the UGC norms, said report.

As per the 96-page inspection report of committee constituted by the Himachal Pradesh Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission (HPPEIRC) to investigate the complaints against the university, several irregularities were found on the part of the university, said Chairman (HPPEIRC) Maj Gen Atul Kaushik (Retd) adding that the report has been accepted.

The inspection team observed that four employees, including three women, were working as assistant examination, assistant controller of Examination (COE)-cum-enterprise resource planning (ERP), assistant administrative officer and network administrator during the course of their studies.

All the four employees, while pursuing their M Tech and MBA from 2014-2017, were holding administrative positions in the university directly linked with examination, management and administration, implying gross violation of the sanctity, secrecy and ethics of examinations.

The university allowed its employees to pursue post graduate courses which is contrary to the University Grant Commission (UGC) norms, said report. Interestingly, one of the employees working as network administrator from 2009 to 2021 obtained M Tech degree (2015-17) was paid full salary. In another case the university took full fee of the candidate from the government under the SC/ST scholarship programme.

The report also pointed out that three years teaching experience of Lekh Raj as assistant professor and period of obtaining the M.Tech degree was contradictory as one person cannot be present at two places at the same time. Lekh Raj (Head of the Department of Civil Engineering at IIU) was terminated for producing fake degree after Manav Bharti University, solan, declared that it has not issued any M.Tech degree to him.

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