Member of Parliament Bishnu Pada Ray has said that all existing students of colleges in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands will continue to remain under Pondicherry University and receive degrees from the university, while reiterating his demand that the proposed deemed university process be halted, and a full-fledged Central University be established instead.
Speaking in an interview to The Wave Andaman, the MP said that students from institutions including JNRM, ANCOL, the Law College, Mayabunder College and Andaman & Nicobar Islands Institute of Medical Sciences (ANIMS) will continue to be affiliated to Pondicherry University for the present.
Ray said he had already raised the demand for setting up a Central University in the islands with the Prime Minister on December 5, following which the matter was directed to the Union Home Ministry for examination.
He added that after the recent student protests began, he again met Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and pressed for stopping the deemed university process and instead moving forward with the proposal for a Central University.
The MP said he favours a Central University because the performance of existing autonomous institutions in the islands has not been satisfactory.
“For the past two years, institutions like ANIMS and Dr B.R. Ambedkar Institute of Technology (DBRAIT), which are functioning under society or deemed-type arrangements, have faced serious issues. Students have not received their marksheets for nearly two years. Their functioning is highly questionable,” Ray said in the interview.
He further noted that the deemed university proposal is currently under consideration at the highest levels and remains sub judice before the Government of India, including the Prime Minister’s Office and the Union Home Ministry.
“At this stage, any change in the existing system will not be right. Until a Central University is established, Pondicherry University affiliation should continue,” he said.
Ray also appealed to students and organisations to call off their agitation, urging them not to continue the bandh and to allow the issue to be resolved through dialogue and administrative processes.
