Skip to content Skip to navigation

The education business

“The aim of education is the knowledge not of facts but of values,” a maxim which seems to have lost its true meaning in the rampant commercialization of education in our present day. Value education is an important rung in the ladder of education but sadly our schools and colleges fail to provide the same to our students. Today education has been taken over by the syllabus as education ends with the completion of the syllabus, a trend which in turn has given rise to a number of institutes and universities carrying forward the wheel of education in a mechanical sense.

Imparting of knowledge has become a business to certain people who claim to provide various courses for exorbitant fees. Guwahati itself has witnessed the boom of such spurious colleges in every nook and corner of the city by self styled educationists. Some colleges are even seen to be running in ramshackle conditions where the students are accommodated in tiny thatched classrooms by in some cases incompetent teachers.

‘Have money will open a school or college’ that is the prevalent attitude of some of the owners of such schools. There are many universities in India who sell degrees for a price which is a mockery of the education system. The students too are aware of such a trend and prefer to seek greener pastures in such institutes where education can be brought and sold.

There are some autonomous universities which fall under the deemed university category but sometimes fail to fall under the Distance Education Council (DEC) which are therefore de-recognized by the UGC. DEC is a statutory body of University Grants Commission (UGC) which provides university status to such universities if they fulfill certain norms and for this the UGC gives them a few years time. If the university fails to fulfill these norms the university is de-recognised.

In such cases some universities find themselves in a soup if they are not approved by the UGC. And in such cases the students are the worst sufferers as they run the risk of being stripped off their degrees. The government needs to tighten its reign over these universities who allot study centres in different parts of the country and charge exorbitant fees without providing proper infrastructure and facilities. Therefore before enrolling in such colleges students and guardians need to check the background of these universities which can be done by visiting the UGC website which lists all the recognized as well as de-recognised universities.

The business of education may have a lot of pitfalls and the potential consumer needs to be aware of these in order to avoid falling into their trap.

Comments

jaay's picture

There is a hoard amongst the younger generation to pile up degrees, no matter what it costs. The ant to gear up with an MBA degree or an MCA degree or probably hotel management diploma, you name it and just walk out of your door, you will see hoardings, offering these degrees in a plate. People are not losing the precious time but tons of money in these ventures. This must stop and it can be done through bringing in proper legislatures and bills, but surprisingly we find that half of these ventures are somehow connected to the politicians or their relatives. So that is why we find that when it comes to taking actions against any such ventures, politicians are the last people to support it. In this era when education proves to be the only pillar for someone’s prosperity, these institutes are certainly creating hindrance. Nice article.

Pages

Add new comment

Random Stories

Fondly remembering you.. Chandan Uncle

19 Oct 2007 - 1:31pm | bonbon
Let me rewind back to the 1980s. It’s seems life then was a beautiful dream, everything was so splendid, nice home ,wonderful family life, with some very genuine and true friends who actually...

Akhil Kr Medhi appointed new Gauhati University VC

20 May 2008 - 4:15pm | editor
Senior Professor and former science dean of Gauhati University Akhil Kumar Medhi is set to be the new Vice Chancellor of the same varsity. The decision top this effect was taken on Monday by...

Handique to take oath as cabinet minister

22 May 2009 - 9:01am | editor
After moments of hectic lobbying in Delhi former minister for chemical and fertilizer and Jorhat MP Bijoy Krishna Handique was inducted in the new Manmohan Singh cabinet on Friday. .According to...

With 78 majority Gogoi is lion strong

14 May 2011 - 3:15am | Syed Miraz Ahmed
Despite heightened guesswork efforts to form the next State Government in alliance opposition Political Parties AGP, AIUDF and the BJP have faced unimaginable set back against the Congress in the...

Other Contents by Author

The media which is a mirror of society has been broken into shards by the the guns of millitants in Manipur. The newspapers were missing from their usual stands in Manipur following threats and counter threats by rival factions of rebel organisation PREPAK over publication of a statement. According to the All Manipur Working Journalists Union the media was torn over a decision to publish a statement which a faction of the PREPAK wanted to publish while another opposed and threatened to react violently if published.The journalists fearing for their lives sought safety in the Imphal Press clubs instead of their homes for fear of persecution. But this is not unusual in manipur as earlier also...
We are celebrating Wild life week but as we read this hundreds of animals are falling prey to the poacher’s gun, succumbing to the onslaught of floods or becoming senseless victims of man’s cruelty. Destruction of natural habitat is a serious threat to wild life which deprives these wild animals of food shelter and water. Their quest for survival brings them in the proximity of human dwellings which in turn puts them in danger of being pelted with stones, bludgeoned by machetes or simply shot at point blank range. Indians are not abreast with the techniques of handling wild animals which stray into human habitation. Rough handling and terror of being attacked leads people to...
“I shall work for an India in which the poorest shall feel that it is their country, in whose making they have an effective voice, an India in which there shall be no high class and low class of people; an India in which all communities shall live in perfect harmony. There can be no room in such an India for the curse of untouchability, or the curse of intoxicating drinks ad drugs. Women will enjoy the same rights as men. We shall be at peace with all the rest of the world. This is the India of my dreams”. Mohandas Karam Chand GandhiSadly we Indians have failed to live up to the India of the mahatma’s dreams. For India is still afflicted by the maladies that the Mahatma...
The Assam Lekhika Santha, a forum of women writers from the state organized a two day North East women writer’s meet on September 30 and October 1 in Shilpa Gram Panjabari Guwahati. The aim of the meet is to promote integrity among the north-eastern states and to provide a common platform to the women writers from the region.The eminent writers who were to grace the occasion are Mamang Dai and Nanni Dai from Arunachal Pradesh, Dr Limattula and Dr Temsula Ao from Nagaland, Dr Shanti Kshetri from Sikkim, Dr Shilaramani Changkham from Manipur, Karabi Deb Barman from Tripura, P Kolongungi from Mizoram, Patricia Mukhim and Al Varin Dokher from Meghalaya and other noted writers from the...
The paeans had not yet subsided regarding the communal and ethnic unity and harmony that the Indian Idol finalists had brought about in the states of Sikim and Meghalaya and the northeast for that matter that pandemonium broke loose. The fans of newly crowned Indian Idol Prashant Tamang erupted in fury at jibes made on their idol by a Radio Jockey of a Delhi based FM station. The 2000 odd fans of Tamang undertook a procession in Siliguri to submit a memorandum to the local SDO but the march turned into mayhem as they indulged into a controversy regarding the passage of an ambulance carrying a patient. The tiff led to widespread arson and triggered a chain of violence which brought in the...
Lucky Mahanta was a handsome lad in his school days, always ahead of his class academically and a bright boy indeed. After passing his Higher Secondary from a reputed boy’s school in Assam he went on to pursue higher studies in the capital city of India, a trend that is an in thing these days and gaining popularity by the day. But soon Lucky’s disposition changed his grades fell and so did his friend circle. He started hanging out with shady characters and formed a group of his own. Slowly he started borrowing money from his college mates and sometimes even begged for a couple of bucks. He sold his car and other expensive belongings to make ends meet. Vicky is now a mere shadow...
Indian television is experiencing a new revolution in the form of reality shows. There is a deluge of reality shows in each and every channel that you turn on. MTV Roadies, Popstar ki khoj in Channel V, Big Boss a rip off from the British show called Big Brother of Shilpa Shetty fame, and the plethora of singing contests from Voice of India in Star Plus, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, challenge in ZEE to the Indian Idol in Sony reality shows have captured the viewers imagination. The northeast has not yet forgotten the frenzy created by Debojit Saha’s victory in one such contest that catapulted the struggling singer into a house hold name overnight and now the northeast people are in crossroads once...
The rising price of onions is bringing real tears in the eyes of the consumers. The onion vendors are pricing them at exorbitant prices forcing the public to opt for an onion free diet. Onions are an inherent part of Indian cuisine hence such a situation greatly distresses the common people.The price rise is a direct outcome of the delay of trains bringing consignments of onions coming from outside the state.The All Guwahati Potato Onion Merchants’ Association (AGPOMA) has allegedly approached Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to look into the matter. The late arrival has also led to the damage of thousands of these products further escalating the prices of these perishables....
Manipur’s human rights activist Irom Sharmila who has been on a fast-unto-death since November, 2000 seeking the repressive Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act repealed. She opposes the Act that gives draconian powers to the security forces and has repeatedly been used with brazen brutality in the Northeast. For five years, she has been imprisoned and force-fed by the State for her ‘crime’. Irom Sharmila’s lone battle against the government is a proof of the grit and determination of a woman scorned.Popularly known as the iron lady of Manipur Irom Sharmila has approached UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi for help by handing over a letter addressed to Sonia Gandhi to Sandeep...
A bandh is the choicest means of protest for all political parties or organizations. We have seen umpteenth number of bandhs for hundreds of reasons such as killings, price rise, atrocities etc. But have these bandhs ever benefited the cause they are called for? Instead these bandhs reverse the wheel of an already slow progress that Assam is involved in. School children and college going youngsters are unable to complete their syllabi on time which later has a bad effect on their future results, ailing people suffer immensely for non availability of medical attention, daily wage earners are the worst sufferers who are unable to feed the hungry mouths at home. In such a predicament do these...