In HP, online system to detect fake degrees

There are 17 pvt varsities & 177 pvt colleges in HP

Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 4

An online management system will detect fake degrees and irregularities in private educational institutions in Himachal Pradesh. Approval for the same has been granted by the government.

The new system would provide real time data on the academic courses offered, fee structure, student strength and the profile of the faculty. In case of any violation, the system would generate an alert.

Earlier, private institutions would update the data on their websites, links of which were available on the site of the Himachal Pradesh Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission (HPPEIRC), explained its Chairman Maj Gen (retd) Atul Kaushik.

“Transparency, accountability and activation of a grievance cell will be our areas of priority,” he said.

The commission, he said, had received 100-150 complaints in the past three weeks, mostly against four universities. These mostly pertained to tuition fee, unpaid salaries, development charges, online teaching and exams and security deposits.

Referring to the vacant seats in engineering colleges, Kaushik said the commission would recommend flexibility, as per the requirement. Regarding complaints against some VCs and Registrars, he said the UGC guidelines should be adhered too. “We have sought the biodata of all VCs.”