• SRM University, founded by an odd time civil contractor, today has an asset base of over Rs. 1000 crore. It runs several colleges and other businesses. Many Chennaiites complain of the humungous capitation fees demanded for medical and engineering seats. A former vice chancellor of Anna University estimated the money collected by this institution a few years ago at over Rs.300 crore per year. The Income tax department is reported to have issued a demand notice of a a few hundred crores on this institution for receiving anonymous donations. SRM published widely its getting ranked within ten top such institutions in India, based on a survey by a little known agency.
  
  
• Jeppiar, a former strong man of the AIADMK, has several institutions that offer engineering UG and PG courses. Over 10,000 students study in these institutions. The assets base of these educational institutions runs into a several hundreds of crores of rupees. Over the last five years, this businessman has invested large sums of money in steel, ready-mix concrete, milk, sweets, transport and other businesses that would have cost over Rs.1000 crore. The income tax department has been sending demand notices for hefty sums received as anonymous donations. The demand for engineering seats in some of these institutions is reported around Rs. 10 lakh.
  
  
• There is a flourishing Vinayaka group of institutions, Salem that runs medical and engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu and Puduchery. Here again hefty capitation fees are reportedly collected in cash for medical, dental and engineering courses.
  These practices are widespread; powerful politicians who control such institutions include: Jeppiar, G. Viswanathan, Thambidurai (former Union Minister), T.R. Baalu, Jagathrakshagan, Thangabalu, A.C. Shanmugam, Vijayakanth... There are already over 300 engineering colleges in this state; applications for several more are pending. More politicians queue up for setting up more.

When capitation is demanded even from tax officials
Sadly, even tax officials are drawn into this loop; don’t they have sons and daughters who need education in institutions that have gained a name for results? Of course the institutions are bold enough today to demand capitation even from tax officials!

With the state government’s admission policy heavily weighted in favour of reservation on the basis of caste, religion... meritorious students, even with 98 per cent plus marks, are not assured of admission into these colleges. Then there are quotas for NRIs: this is again put to abuse for admitting children of politicians and money bags.

Powerful businessmen and finance specialists have also found ingenuous methods for tackling the payment mode; while many are happy collecting the fees, of even Rs. 50 lakh, in bundles of cash (and several of these pay part of the salaries to faculty in black), they also accept donations in different forms. These are often collected not directly from the concerned parents but from someone different, that is through a friend, business associate or a third party.

As finance minister, P Chidambaramm a scion of the founder of Annamalai University, introduced an ingenius plan: to tax donations received from anonymous persons. The demand runs to hundreds of crore on several private professional colleges. But, these are resisted through legal experts obtaining stay in courts; are we not familiar with the long course of such tax litigation handled for leading corporates by luminaries like NA Palkhivala? So, the education barons need not worry for a decade or two on this score!

A pliant political system, under the coalition mode in Delhi, has also been helpful. Corruption at the education ministry running down to AICTE, UGC... and abuse of accreditation rules and the grant of deemed university status make their own contributions.

Two decades ago, after the change of government, the state government nationalised Sri Ramachandra Medical College and attached it to the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University; when the government changed again, the college was handed back to the private promoter. This time the promoters moved Delhi and obtained the deemed university status. Today there are several educational institutions in the state that have obtained the deemed university status.

They float on tonnes of money…

Since such institutions are literally floating on tonnes of money, it has been possible to attract celebrities and senior retired bureaucrats to be retained as advisors/ consultants. T N Seshan, after retirement as Chief Election Commissioner, was retained by Jeppiar as an advisor. Seshan made several trips to Delhi to represent the Sathyabama Group of Institutions of Jeppiar. A former Director – News of Doordarshan, a musicologist and cine actor, H Ramakrishnan, was appointed as public relations chief of this institution.

How they lure celebrities!

Another familiar technique is to invite renowned public personalities, ministers… as guests for interaction with students to address seminars. Dignitaries like Dr K Kasturirangan, Dr R Chidambaram and the chiefs of national accreditation boards apart from local ministers and high ups in politics were among such persons invited. These participants are lavished with expensive presents as mementos.

A former vice chancellor of Anna University, known for his integrity and probity, recounted that dozens of invitations used to be flooded by engineering colleges affiliated to his university, to visit and participate in functions. Invariably there would be expensive gifts to him and his wife (which he declined with admonition). He conducted several surprise inspections and took strong action for lapses, including rustication of the son of the promoter of an engineering college, for copying.

Upset with such a disciplinarian at the helm, private engineering colleges ensured that he did not get a second term as VC!
The selection process of a vice chancellor in itself is unscientific, political and seethes with corruption. The process is faulty and is subject to manipulation by political powers. Significantly, none of the recent tenures of a vice chancellor had extended beyond a single term of three years.

A welcome sting operation by TOI

Times of India and its 24 hour news channel Times Now deserve to be complimented for their sting operation on the hefty capitation fees collected with impunity by two universities that offer medical and engineering education. The practice is widely known and the collections are indeed hefty. With the practioners, powerful politicians and businessmen, who enjoy the support of leaders at the helm who control the law enforcement machinery, the practice has been established on firm foundations.

The estimates of black money involved in these transactions are humungous: last year Tamil Nadu offered 3565 seats for medical degrees. Even assuming 20 per cent of these collect capitation fees of an average of Rs.20 lakh, the amount involved is a huge Rs.140 crore! The capitation charged for PG courses, dental courses… will add up another Rs.100 crore.

The numbers involved for engineering degrees are much higher – 300,000 seats. Unlike medical education, which still is largely in the government sector, engineering education is dominated by private institutions. Initially, the sector was opened for religious and other minorities; of course, the rules were bent on ‘modest’ considerations to decision-makers at Delhi and Fort St George. One witnessed bizarre exploitation and interpretation of the ‘minority’ status. There is the free flow of foreign funds for Christian minority institutions that have mushroomed in quick time. But as it evolved and the sector expanded, politicians and businessmen with powerful political connections, particularly those who could quickly invest large sums on land, crowded the field. The IT revolution of the 1990s that opened the flood gates for engineering graduates in their thousands, contributed to preparing parents and their wards to invest large sums on getting an engineering degree.

The surge in demand…

Demand was so great! Large IT companies like even TCS, lowered the bar: from the initial focus on recruiting students from the Indian Ivy League like the IITs, Guindy Engineering College and Birla Institute of Technology to several colleges offering a degree in engineering (later, recruitment extended to even undergrad students of science and arts). The sector was growing at a frenetic pace; recruitments were made in their thousands. Systems were introduced by companies like TCS and Infosys to equip greenhorns from rural engineering colleges in remote areas, with language, communication and other soft skills in quick time and pack them off to the US and elsewhere. A past director of IIT–M once remarked: “whatever the area of specialisation was, 85 per of the engineering grads ended up with IT!”

With huge demand for campus recruitment even midcourse, there has been increasing clamour for an engineering degree. Parents and their wards, lured by the prospects of lucrative careers in the US and elsewhere on pay packets hitherto unknown, were willing to stake their all for gaining entry into an engineering college. Their numbers understandably grew by leaps and bounds. In a little over 30 years Tamil Nadu witnessed a hundred’ fold increase in the demand for engineering degrees.

Enter the politicians…

Obviously shrewd politicians who had access to decision-makers were the first to seize the opportunity: several leaders like G Viswanathan and Jeppiar, who suffered from the changing fortunes in political power and the whims of their leaders, foresaw the humungous opportunities and opted to enter this business. Their timing appears perfect: these have turned multi-billionaires in such quick time!

The state policy on reservations was also a big help. Meritorious students even with 90 per cent plus aggregate marks were not certain of getting the college/course of his/her choice. The time lag between the publication of the results and the time-consuming course of counseling, with the above uncertainties, resulted in parents reconciled to pay hefty capitation fees demanded by most of the engineering colleges. The demand for engineering seats from colleges in the top rank of 20 in terms of results, goes up to as much as Rs.10 lakh. Such sums are collected with impunity in cash. There are reports of strong rooms in certain deemed universities and colleges where bundles of such cash are just thrown in!

The bribe is kept a sacred secret

The one that takes the bribe has no qualms about it and enjoys taking it; the one that gives is shackled by concerns over the impact of his revealing it on his ward: over the next four years his child and his/her progress is bound with the institution (and its director/owner); thus the parent cannot be expected to talk about the capitation fee paid.

The correspondents of Times of India/Times Now had exposed two of the powerful medical colleges. But the practice is widespread. There are hardly a handful of higher educational institutions in the state, like SSN Engineering College and the SASTRA University, that have a transparent, non-capitation-based admission systems. There is also the classic argument of demand driving the managements to take capitation fees: there appears little warrant for Sri Venkateswara Engineering College (with which industrialist A C Muthiah is associated) or the new entrant Meenakshi Sundararajan Engineering College, to take hefty capitation fees. When the practice for collecting such fees is widely prevalent, these institutions with a good reputation could as well retort with righteous indignation that should they adopt a self-denial mode?

The dream of our university securing a Stanford or MIT...

A couple of years ago in an address at the Madras Management Association, former vice chancellor of Anna University, the renowned educationist, Dr. M Anandakrishnan, expressed his anguish: “when are we going to nurture universities of the stature of a Harvard, MIT, Oxford or Cambridge?” He succinctly explained the impossibility for such a thing happening, especially in Tamil Nadu. He pointed to the method of selecting brilliant public spirited educationists to administer such institutions; to the professional excellence brought in by these; to the respect and admiration commanded by these by the community.

Sons, in-laws and outlaws…

Look at those at the helm at some of the deemed universities in Tamil Nadu:

1. The Vellore University. Chancellor – G Viswanathan, Mr. Sekar Viswanathan, Mr. G. V. Selvam, Mr.G V Shankar are the
     sons of Viswanathan. Sathyabhama group of institutions: heact the difference institutions.

2. The institutions run by Jeppiar are managed by his sons-in-law.

3. SRM University – Chancellor Pachamuthu, Mr. P. Ravi, Pro Chancellor, Mr. P. Sathyanarayanan Vice-Chancellor are sons
     of Pachamuthu.

4. Vinayaka Mission University - Dr.A. Shanmugasundaram, Chancellor, Dr.S. Sharavanan, Pro-Chancellor, Dr.A.S. Ganesan,
     Pro-Chancellor,

This pattern can be seen right across the entire sector. Sons, in-laws and outlaws, barely in their thirties and with no academic or administrative experience function as chancellors and vice chancellors.

Charity begins at home: there is no difficulty in such worthies getting MBA or even doctorate from universities owned by them. Annamalai University pioneered the practice of awarding honorary doctorates to the scions of founder Annamalai Chettiar. With the craze of Tamils for such doctorates and other honorifics, deemed universities liberally distribute these. Remember Krishna Srinivas, the poet? In the 1970s he awarded honorary doctorates to dozens from a little heard of university with nothing but an address in the US. With state-owned universities vying with each other to award honorary doctorates to political bosses, deemed universities liberally distribute these to their kith and kin and also to potential benefactors in the higher echelons of power, especially in the field of higher education. With the proliferation of universities, a sizable section of the Tamil population can aspire to receive doctorates. Already, in line with the Tamil’s fascination for films, a good number of film personalities have been decorated with doctorates.

Dr Anandakrishnan can be rest assured that our universities in the state will not pose any competition or threat to a Stanford or a Harvard.

A few of these have perfected the art of tapping research grants from the department of science and technology, the department of bio-technology… These do not as yet produce quality research paper or register many patents. The interactions of most of these universities with industry have been poor. While the research output of even well-endowed prestigious institutions like the IITs has been insignificant, these new generation universities that got the status of deemed universities even before sending their first batch of undergrad students for final examinations, are not equipped to go for serious research. A single University of Wisconsin at Madison had an annual budget of $ 764 mn (Rs.3820 crore), many times the total budget of even a prosperous deemed university.

Crass politicisation in the appointment of VCs

Government has to take a large part of the blame for the deterioration in the quality of higher education. There has been crass politicisation of appointments of academics leading right up to the vice chancellor. Caste factors have pervaded extensively. Merit has ceased to be a criterion and there has been pervasive corruption. Look at the process of selection of a vice chancellor of a state run university: three member committee is appointed for selecting and recommending three names to the chancellor (the governor) for selecting one of these. The syndicate/senate is to recommend the members of the selection committee: but these worthy bodies are stacked with men with strong political affiliations. So it turns out that the members of the selection committee are handpicked by the party in power, by the chief minister/education minister. Thus the three selected persons are picked indirectly by the political party in power. If on occasions all the three are not considered pliable, the chancellor rejects all the three, dissolves the selection committee and constitutes a fresh one!

A few years ago, under the chairmanship of renewed scientist, Dr. G Thyagarajan, the selection committee recommended three names that included the incumbent, E Balagurusamy, a professor from IIT-M and a reputed principal of an engineering college from Coimbatore. The chancellor did not consider any of these suitable, constituted a fresh committee and went through the selection process again and one little known for his academic credentials, was selected!

There is no second term beyond 3 years…

Jockeying for getting the post is intense. There is widespread belief on the role of corruption. One witnesses candidates selected with such great effort not even completing the three year term. The 152 year old Madras University is a hotbed for intrigues, politicking and several unsavoury practices. It has become difficult for an incumbent to have a smooth course of his three year term and leave unscathed. The former principal of Loyola College, Ignacimuthu, selected as VC had to resign midcourse. Dr. S P Thyagarajan, who was VC during the 150th year of Madras University and who handsomely expanded funding for research, was not allowed to get a second term. With the change in the party controlling the government taking place to precision after every election in the last 20 years, the tenure of the vice chancellors has also been impacted. Curiously today can not a university which saw Dr. A L Mudaliar function as VC for over 25 years, get for its incumbents a tenure beyond three years!

In such a situation, the first year of an incument VC is spent on understanding the rigours and the quantum of tasks involved; with over a hundred affiliated colleges, he does not have time for inspecting these or evaluate their individual performances even once. Being a political appointee, he also has to maintain rapport with the political leadership. The third year, by which he comes to grip with the problems of administration, is increasingly consumed with efforts to get an extension or a vc’s post in another of the state universities.

Dr. Anandakrishnan is of course aware of the extent of devaluation that has taken place. He is also aware of the stability of administration, the quality, the prestige, the academic independence… of a leading American university like Harvard.

Look also at the change in stature: in the olden days, the secretary to the department of higher education or the education minister used to call on a VC with a prior appointment; today the private secretary of the minister or the secretary to department, beckons a VC to the secretariat! And few of the incumbents have resisted this change!

The abuse of NRI quota

While the admissions to private engineering colleges are steeped in corruption, the mal- practices that have evolved in prestigious government colleges are no less repulsive. The Guindy Engineering College of Anna University has a reputation of over 100 years for being the most prestigious among the engineering colleges in the country. The cut off marks for admission into this college has consistently been ruling at over 98 per cent. With such a high entry barrier, results have been consistently excellent. But ingenous practices adopted have diluted the norms of admission: in a state fond of reservations, quotas have been allotted for sports persons, large donors from industry, CM’s discretion… Through the last decade and more, there emerged yet another channel: the NRI quota. After some serious protests, the industry quota has been abolished. With the economy booming and the emergence of a wealthy and growing non-resident Indian population, the NRI quota has turned to be a Kamadhenu (a veritable milch cow). Professional colleges, including the Guindy Engineering College, revel in tapping this cow. Originally intended to provide for the education of the children of Indians working abroad, it got diluted and corrupted. The scions of business leaders, powerful politicians and wealthy education barons get admitted to this prestigious Guindy Engineering College under the NRI quota.

The rigours of attendance also get diluted to enable such worthies to sit for exams: at the Guindy Engineering College, the earlier of 75 per cent attendance was diluted to 40 per cent to enable some of the scions of powerful politicians and wealthy individuals to appear for examinations. But AU has not yet perfected this art of getting the papers of such students written by others or valued liberally a la Munnabhai MBBS/Vasul Raja MBBS. Another old university of the state has perfected this to an art that has enabled undergraduates in medical profession benefitting from such practices to get their degrees at the end of the stipulated five years. Professors shed tears on efficient ‘tracers’ tracking the movement of answer papers (with the efficiency of Fedex), doing necessary course corrections and ensuring pass marks and credits. One can expect a transfer of this technology to Guindy as well in quick time.

There are a few major issues involved:

• The willingness of the parent/student to spend a huge amount for a medical/engineering degree. Banks also offer easy loan facilities (in just four years 2004-08 educational loans advanced by banks expanded from Rs.3053 crore to Rs.19,844 crore).
• Students today are willing to spend close to $60,000 for MS degree in an American, British or Australian university. They are thus conditioned to pay high fees for an institution nearer home.
• The practices are so much standardised and perfected, so wide-spread and the involvement of powerful politicians and policymakers so high, that it will be extremely difficult to tackle this without strong commitment at the highest political level and effective enforcement. Is it possible to do this in the present coalition set up?
  
• A major difficulty relates to the students and their parents unwilling to come clean on the hefty donations they made, in black, on fears of the management of the institutions punishing the students and the consequences thereon on his/her career and future.
  
• One solution lies in liberating education from government regulations, treat it as a business for profit and tax it appropriately. Almost 30 years ago Prathap Reddy of Apollo Hospitals exploded the myth of medicare as a not-for-profit activity. That seems to have done some good in eliminating a portion of black money transactions in hospitals. It is time to think of such a change in higher education as well.

Everyone seems to know that the emperor is naked but none is prepared to desist from admiring him for so well –clothed!