JAMMU, Apr 15: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has flagged multiple academic, regulatory and administrative deficiencies in the functioning of the University of Jammu, including running courses without mandatory approvals.
The CAG recommended corrective measures and said that the university should strengthen its affiliation process to ensure that only institutions meeting regulatory norms are granted affiliation, along with the preparation of comprehensive inspection reports to safeguard academic quality.
It also drew attention to the issues of poor industry linkages, delays in evaluation and weak placement outcomes.
The university was offering a wide range of programmes, including 38 doctoral, 24 MPhil, 50 postgraduate, 19 undergraduate courses, besides diplomas and certificate programmes across eight faculties, the CAG report on Union Territory finances for the year ended March 31, 2024, said.
However, the audit noted that the university had obtained approval from the All India Council for Technical Education for only two technical programmes — MBA and MCA — while four other technical courses were being run without approval. “Further, the MCA programme had not been accredited by the National Board of Accreditation, depriving students of quality assurance benefits”.
The report also highlighted deviations from prescribed academic standards, including non-adherence to the AICTE model curriculum and lack of required infrastructure in programmes such as M Tech Computer Science.
On degree norms, the CAG observed that the university failed to align course nomenclature with guidelines of the University Grants Commission. “The Business Administration in Hotel Management (BBA-HM) course continued with outdated nomenclature and duration, in violation of UGC regulations”.
The audit further pointed out that teacher education programmes were being conducted without recognition from the National Council for Teacher Education. “The university neither sought mandatory approvals nor adhered to prescribed norms for admissions and faculty requirements”.
In terms of academic collaboration, the CAG pulled up the university for weak industry-academia linkages.
“Of 26 MoUs signed with national and international institutions, only two were fully functional, while 20 remained non-operational. The Industry-academia partnership centre, established in 2019, was also found non-functional due to infrastructure constraints”.
The CAG report said that the university’s innovation and startup ecosystem was similarly underperforming. “The University Business Incubation and Innovation Centre (UBIIC) and Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), set up to promote entrepreneurship, remained largely inactive with activities limited to webinars”.
The report also raised concerns over poor placement outcomes. “Of over 1,000 students enrolled in professional courses between 2017 and 2022, only 224 secured placements, while students from general courses had virtually no placement support”.
The audit report pointed to “serious” deficiencies in the examination system, including errors in marks cards, incorrect evaluation of answer sheets and delays in re-evaluation results. “The audit noted that up to 27 per cent of students saw their results change from fail to pass after re-evaluation, indicating significant flaws in assessment processes”, it added.
Delays were also reported in PhD thesis evaluation, with only 22 per cent completed within the prescribed six months, it said, adding that in some cases, delays extended up to over four years, adversely affecting students’ academic progression.
The CAG also pointed to instances of out-of-syllabus questions in 135 examination papers, leading to re-examinations and awarding of grace marks, but noted that no action was taken against erring paper setters.
On research, the audit found delays and incomplete projects, with eight projects remaining unfinished despite expenditure while terming monitoring mechanisms as “inadequate”.
“The University Business Incubation and Innovation Centre (UBIIC) and Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), set up to promote startups and entrepreneurship, remained non-functional, the audit said, adding that the university failed to provide adequate support for innovation and startup ecosystems”, it added.
Additionally, the report highlighted that 82 per cent of affiliated colleges had not obtained accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, despite mandatory requirements.
It also found that several colleges were operating with temporary affiliation for years and lacked qualified teaching staff.
The report highlighted that placement activities were confined to a few select departments. “Of around 1,000 students enrolled in professional courses between 2017 and 2022, only 224 secured placements through the Placement Cell”.
The CAG further noted that 84 colleges under the university were functioning with temporary affiliation for periods ranging from six to 28 years. “In 51 physically verified colleges, 113 out of 331 teachers appointed in 24 nongovernment colleges did not possess prescribed qualifications”. (Agencies)
