Dravidian University

Pardon my ignorance of the very existence of Dravidian University in AP. Even Tarantula which lives, literally and metaphorically, in a corner of a house and derives sustenance through web is not expected to know everything around.

This renowned University is located at a trilingual junction at Kuppam, Chittor Dstrict in the South-Western tip of A.P, which is only 4 kms away from Karnataka, 8 kms from Tamil Nadu and of course very close to Kerala border, which is less than 4.5 hrs drive.

This budding University which is hardly a decade old became an envy of all leading Universities in the world particularly in the last two years when it has awarded 8,000 plus PhDs, which all the eight Ivy Leagues and a few other world’s leading Universities combined could not produce so many PhDs during the same period. It is a great misfortune and a National Tragedy of sort we fail to recognize the yeomen services rendered by this Universities to meet the expected demand for such degree holders. It is a matter of great concern that following news is appearing in headlines:

The A.P state government is Preparing all to cancel 8,029 PhDs awarded by the Dravidian University over the last 2 academic years. Universities like Osmania and Andhra, which have been functioning for decades, registered less than 500 PhDs, the government was shocked that the 10-year-old Dravidian University awarded thousands of PhDs in a single academic year.

Dravidian university has been offering PhDs in Distance education mode against the norms set the UGC and the AICTE and also allowed private institutions to set up study centers to offer MPhil and PhD programmes. The recent norms making M.Phils and PhDs mandatory for appointment as professors and principals in colleges have led to huge demand from students to obtain these qualifications. AP state government had received specific complaints against the university that the study centres were charging `50,000 to `1 lakh for each PhD depending on the subject and its demand.

What is wrong in charging Rs. 1,00,000/- for a PhD when some schools in the Capital of AP, in which this Dravidian University is situated, are charging a minimum of Rs. 6,00,000/- per year for LKG to Class XII (which works out to more than a crore of rupees, if you account interest burden, even if the child fails in his Board exam)? Most parents do shell out more money, ungrudgingly, for a single entrance examination to a private coaching center in twin cities and complain of this University whose Chancellor is none other than the H.E. Governor of AP. Is it not a mockery of Justice?

Readers may refresh their memory by reading the old blog-post:

http://tarantula-political.blogspot.com/2009/09/right-to-get-phd-act.html

Kapil Sibal should explicitly encourage such deemed universities and ensure they do not become doomed and come out with an equation that a charge of Rs. 1,00,000/- for a PhD certificate, in reality, works out to ‘no charge’ just as the loss due to 2G spectrum sale, according to his mathematics, worked out to No Loss.