Deemed Universities

Institutions of higher education, which are not universities, but recognized for excellence in education, granted the status of the university. Such institutions are known as deemed university. Deemed university is a status of autonomy granted to various universities in India. The status of deemed university is granted by central government or government of India, on the advice of the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India, under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956, after meeting all the standards set by UGC. There are 130 institutions which have been given the status of deemed universities. List of deemed universities can be obtained from the following link- List of Deemed Universities  

The UGC established in 1956 after Indian parliament passed the University Grants Commission Act to make provision for the co-ordination and determination and maintenance of standards in Universities.

Institutions serving high academic standard in education and research, which are financially sound and is in existence for ten or more years, capable of further enriching the university system, competent to undertake application-oriented programs in emerging area of knowledge are declared as deemed universities.

Deemed university status gives permission to the institutions to create its own course schema, syllabus and teaching methodologies for their institutes and to set their own guidelines for the admissions, fees and instruction to the students. Deemed universities are not abide by the rules and regulations of any other university and can award degrees under its own name.

Deemed universities are not affiliating universities i.e. cannot allow other institution to affiliate themselves to it. An institution cannot be given the status of deemed university by offering course in different subjects only unless there is a research field also implemented by the university.

However the image for these universities has gone negative after awarding of deemed university status to quite a large number of institutions with alleged quality and infrastructure rather than as institutions of academic excellence, which they claim to be. Later on, after many public accusation that UGC was funding universities with large amount of tax payer money, despite the fact that these institutes were offering alleged quality and infrastructure in education, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) in June 2009, established the P.N. Tandon committee. On the basis of Tandon committee report Supreme court passed an order of de-recognition of 44 deemed universities that is to withdrew the status of deemed university awarded to 44 institutions. UGC is now passing strong regulations to check deemed universities.