By Archit Gupta,Education And Careers Desk,News18

Copyright news18

At least 54 state private universities have been marked as defaulters by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for not sharing the required information under section 13 of the UGC Act, 1956, and for not putting public disclosures on their websites, officials said.
The UGC said it had repeatedly reminded the universities to give full details for inspection and also submit proof documents signed by the registrar.
“They were also directed to upload the filled-in format and appendices on their website by giving a link on the home page so that the information is accessible to the students and the general public. The above was followed by several reminders through e-mails and online meetings,” UGC Secretary Manish Joshi said.
As per the guidelines on public self-disclosure, higher education institutions must run a functional website to share information with stakeholders. “The information disclosed on the website should be easily accessible to everyone, on the home page, without any need for registration or login. Additionally, there should be a ‘search’ facility available for easy navigation,” the guideline stated.
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Madhya Pradesh had the highest number of defaulting universities at 10, followed by Gujarat with eight, Sikkim with five, and Uttarakhand with four.
The UGC shared the list of defaulting universities and warned them to take immediate corrective action. According to UGC officials, stricter steps could be taken if these institutions keep ignoring the directions. The higher education regulator has also increased its monitoring of private universities recently. In July, it had warned 23 institutions for not appointing ombudspersons.