CHENNAI: The new regulations issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 2010 are to achieve the objective of maintenance of academic standards and to serve the larger interest of the public, the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development told the Madras High Court on Monday.The regulations, among other things, stipulated that the 44 universities in the country should not use the term University and that they should use the words “deemed to be” as the prefix.Originally, challenging the UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2010, the SASTRA University in Thanjavur and the Sathyabama University near Chennai and nine others moved the High Court. A single judge on August 30 last year, dismissed the writ petitions. Aggrieved, the universities preferred the present appeals. The first Bench comprising Chief Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam, before which the appeals came up for hearing, stayed the operation of the orders of the single judge, on the last occasion of hearing on the appeals.In its present counter, filed through Central government Senior Standing Counsel Haja Mohideen Gisthi, the HRD Ministry submitted that the regulations had been notified by the UGC after taking into consideration the views of the Expert Committee appointed by it and inconsultation with the Central government, after the approval of the Review Committee/Task Force comprising academic experts. The UGC was fully competent to frame the regulations as per the provisions of the UGC Act. It was perfectly justified in framing the regulations to achieve the objective of maintenance of academic standards, Gisthi contended and sought to vacate the stay and to dismiss the appeals. And the first Bench referred the matter to a newly-constituted Bench comprising Justices P Jyothimani and Karuppiah for further hearing, on Monday.
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