SHILLONG, June 16 � A team from the University Grants Commission (UGC) would be visiting Meghalaya next week to probe into the affairs of Chandra Mohan Jha (CMJ) University.
�The team from the UGC would be here next week to carry forward its probe on the CMJ University,� a senior official of the UGC told The Assam Tribune here.
The UGC has formed an expert committee after the Governor and Visitor of CMJ University, RS Mooshahary recommended to the State Government to dissolve the University.
The official said the UGC only �approves the courses� of private Universities; it is the State Government which accords recognition through State legislation and hence should assume more responsibility in monitoring the functioning of such Universities.
�State Governments are establishing Universities at will. Of course there is a demand for Private Universities, but that does not mean you allow degree mills to set up bases�, he added.
When pointed out that many of the private Universities set up by Meghalaya Government is yet to be inspected by the UGC, the official too was unable to explain how the UGC failed to do so.
In its website, the UGC has listed eight private Universities of Meghalaya, some established in 2005. Out of these eight, only the Martin Luther Christian University has been inspected.
The Meghalaya Government on its part did not monitor these Institutes and only formed a regulatory board after the CMJ controversy surfaced. The regulatory board was formed this year under the Meghalaya Private University (Regulation) of Establishment and Maintenance of Standard) Act, 2012.
�Assuming that the UGC was farsighted and did not inspect these private Universities, but what was the State Government doing all these years after establishing eight Universities in as many years,� the UGC official asked.
Meanwhile, the UGC is also coming up with a new distance education policy. The new policy would have appropriate regulations to maintain the standards of distance education courses, the official said.
