Punjab government takes on Thapar University

Chandigarh, April 23 (IANS) The Punjab government has sought a complete report on the status of the private Thapar University following the controversy over abolition of Punjab quota seats in engineering and technical courses there, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said Monday.

Taking strong exception to the move of the Patiala-based university amending rules to deny admission quota to students of Punjab in the engineering and polytechnic courses "without any prior permission from the state government", Badal directed officials of the technical education department to take all preventive, corrective, legislative and legal measures to stop the university "from denying legitimate admission quota to state students".

In a strongly worded statement issued here, Badal said that Thapar University, which was earlier known as Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, was allotted 250 acres prime land at highly concessional rate by the Punjab government in 1956, with the aim of providing quality technical education to the students of state.

"Thapar University cannot be allowed to tweak rules, regulations and guidelines, denying the legitimate admission quota, without taking the permission of state government. Punjab government will not allow Thapar University to deviate from the basic philosophy of educating students of Punjab for which the state government had given it land in the year 1956," he said.

He said that the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has already sought intervention of union Human Resource Development minister Kapil Sibal on this issue.

The chief minister would soon call on the union minister "to put a stop to the mischief of Thapar University," he added.

The Thapar University, located at Patiala, 150 km from here, had recently announced its decision to abolish the 50 percent quota for Punjab students. The university said that it had done so in accordance with University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines.