Page 18 - EW December 2025

Education News

DELHI down by the Supreme Court. Later,
Compromised regulatory system in 2009, the Tandon Committee

found 44 private ‘deemed’ universi-
ties certified as such by UGC and the
Union education ministry unfit for
autonomous status.
Against this backdrop the latest
scandal to shake the country’s higher
education licensing system is pro-
vided by Al-Falah University (AFU),
Faridabad.
On November 8 after police
searched AFU premises for explo-
sives, four duly qualified medical
practitioners teaching/practicing
in the university were arrested and
charged under the Unlawful Ac-
tivities (Prevention) Act, 1967. They
are accused of conspiring to set off
bombs and explosions in Delhi and
several cities across the country, and
Al-Falah University, Faridabad: explosive licensing & certification revelations also linked to the November 10 Red
Fort suicide blast in Delhi that killed
nder the constitution of problems. The majority of private 15 people and injured over 20.
India, education is a concur- universities established under state Promoted by the Delhi-based Al-
Urent list subject empowering government legislation and promot- Falah Charitable Trust (estb.1995),
the Central and state governments to ed by influential politicians and get- the university was established under
enact legislation on education issues. rich-quick entrepreneurs, licensed by the Haryana Private Universities
However, until the liberalisation and corrupt education ministry officials (Amendment) Act, 2014. Spread
deregulation of the country’s Soviet- at the Centre and in the states, tend across a 70-acre campus, the institu-
inspired socialist economy in 1991, to be of indifferent quality. Indeed, tion began as an engineering college
state governments tended to focus on most Central government regula- in 1997. It added a medical college in
the K-12 education sector, allowing tory agencies such as the University 2016 and admitted its first batch of
the Centre to promote and regulate Grants Commission (UGC), AICTE, 200 MBBS and MD students in 2019.
higher education. NAAC and NBA mandated to Admissions are conducted through
But after 1991, perhaps inspired supervise higher education institu- the Department of Medical Educa-
by the example of America’s top tions and ensure they meet specified tion and Research (DMER). The
ranked globally admired private uni- quality standards have acquired bad university also operates schools of
versities, private sector edupreneurs reputation for greenlighting dozens humanities, teacher training, and so-
began establishing universities aided of private universities that lack basic cial sciences, serving 2,000 students.
and enabled by state governments. infrastructure, teachers and adminis- Investigations have revealed se-
Sikkim Manipal University (SMU) trators, enabling them to enroll gull- vere flaws in the system under which
was promoted as India’s first private ible students for faux, sub-standard Al-Falah University was licensed and
state government legislated universi- higher education at substantial fees. certified. Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui
ty established under the Sikkim Ma- Perhaps the most blatant example — the university’s chancellor and
nipal University of Health, Medical of state governments recklessly managing director of the Al-Falah
and Sciences Act, 1995. Since then, licensing private universities was Group — is a convicted fraudster
436 private universities — including provided by the Chhattisgarh Private now belatedly arrested by the En-
the top-ranked Amity (estb. 2005), Universities Act, 2002. It outraged forcement Directorate (ED) under
Jindal Global (2009) and Ashoka academia because immediately the Prevention of Money Laundering
(2014) universities have been estab- after it was enacted, more than 100 Act, 2000. During the period 2018-
lished by special state legislation. private universities without basic 25, Al-Falah collected over Rs.415
Inevitably, rapid multiplication infrastructure, mushroomed state- crore from students, much of which
of private universities birthed by wide and were allowed to operate was diverted through affiliated enti-
state legislation has created quality until 2005 when the Act was struck ties for non-educational purposes.

18 EDUCATIONWORLD DECEMBER 2025