AMN / NEW DELHI
The Union government has clarified following the criticism on social media after it had declared ‘Jio Institute’ among the six institutions including IIT Delhi, IISc Bangalore, IIT Bombay, Birla Institute of Technology and Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal as Institute of Eminence.
The Union Government on Monday, July 9, 2018 bestowed the honour of Institute of Eminence awards to six institutions which includes, IIT Delhi, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, Karnataka; Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Maharashtra,Jio Institute (Reliance Foundation), Pune, Birla Institute of Technology & Sciences (BITS) Pilani, Rajasthan; and Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka.
However, some people took to their social media to criticise the inclusion of Jio Institute in the list. Twitter users slammed the HRD questioning about the institute’s whereabouts and its credentials. They also expressed that it is not a fair decision to give such a status even before an institute is established.
In response to some misinformation campaign in social media regarding "Institutes of Eminence", please find herewith clarifications on commonly raised questions #InstituteofEminence pic.twitter.com/K6IB5ILpfb
— Ministry of Education (@EduMinOfIndia) July 9, 2018
Meanwhile, defending its decision, the Human Resource and Development Ministry has released an official clarification on account of the criticisms on the social media received after their announcement. The HRD Ministry said that Jio Institute fulfills four parameters which other institutions did not fulfill according to the clause 6.1 of the UGC Regulation 2017.
As per reports in a leading daily, the parameters to be satisfied for the establishment of the Greenfield institutes under the clause included the availability of land for construction of the institution, putting up a core team with high qualifications and experience, available funds for setting up the institution and a strategic vision plan, which the Jio institute has fulfilled.