The New Indian Express ·
'Surprised' Chhattisgarh Governor mandates 1,000-student minimum for Private Universities
RAIPUR: In an indictment of higher education standards across Chhattisgarh, nearly a third of the private universities operating in the state have failed to enroll even 1,000 students—prompting Governor Ramen Deka to sound the alarm over institutions functioning as universities in name only.
The grim reality surfaced during a high-level review meeting chaired by the Governor at Lok Bhavan with vice-chancellors of around 20 private universities. Out of these, roughly half a dozen institutions reported student strengths below the 1,000 mark. The revelation left the Governor visibly taken aback, prompting him to issue a direct mandate: every university must immediately work to achieve a baseline enrolment of at least 1,000 students or face hard questions about their institutional viability.
The disclosure has triggered fierce blowback from educationists and policy experts, who argue that running a university with student numbers smaller than an average higher secondary school makes a mockery of higher education accreditation.
