The Haryana government is all set to order a detailed audit of all the 24 private universities in the state amid complaints that some of them were not adhering to the provisions of the law. The move comes against the backdrop of state higher education department issuing a show cause notice to Ashoka University, accusing it of “financial embezzlement” by not admitting enough students from the state or giving them fee concession as required by Haryana Private Universities Act-2006, an allegation that the private university has denied.
Additional Chief Secretary (Higher education) Anand Mohan Sharan told The Indian Express that the audit will cover
administrative, academic and financial aspects.
“It is provided under the Act that an annual audit of universities is to be conducted. We have taken a decision to do it. The modalities and the points on which the audit shall be conducted are being drafted. We are also considering the agency that would be hired for conducting the audit. It could be the Accountant General Office or a central government agency. The entire process shall be completed in a fortnight,” said Sharan.
On the show-cause notice to the Ashoka University, Sharan said, “There were certain complaints received by the department on basis of which it asked university to furnish some details. Based on the details provided by the university, the department found discrepancies that amounted to aberrations and violation of the provisions of the Act. The university has again submitted a detailed reply in response to our notice. The department is examining it”.
On July 6, replying to the queries sent by The Indian Express regarding the show-cause notice, Ashoka University had refuted the government’s accusations. “Ashoka University complies with all requirements of the Private Universities Act and all state and national higher education regulations in letter and spirit. The university also follows the highest standards of institutional governance backed by stringent audit, and there is no question of any financial impropriety in this regard or any other aspect of its functioning,” a part of Sonipat-based university’s reply read.
The state higher education department also revealed that in another matter, a show-cause notice was also issued to the World University of Design, Sonipat. “The university had started admissions in the courses for which they had not sought government’s prior approval. After examining their reply, the university was imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh,” Sharan said.
The senior official said that under the Private Universities Act, a fine ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore can be imposed on a private university depending on the gravity of the violation committed. “Since, it was their first violation, the government imposed the minimum fine,” Sharan added.
Sharan also disclosed that another SRM University, also based in Sonipat, was issued a show-cause notice for beginning courses without prior approval of the government. The university has submitted its reply, which, the department said, “is under examination”.
Explaining the reasons behind move to initiate audit of the private universities, Sharan said, “It is a requirement under the Act, but was not being done. In the interest of youth, the audit has to be conducted on an annual basis. The state government has made the compliance checks stringent as more and more private universities are coming up”.
