Private universities under scrutiny

If the highest seats of learning - no matter if they are public or private - are accused of concealing income proceeds, it is a sad day for any country. At least 10 private universities in the country are suspect of evading income tax by concealment of their actual income, according to the National Board of Revenue. Already its Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) found a few such varsities guilty of this misdeed and realised unpaid taxes along with fines on those. It seems the process will continue in order to make the records straight. To that end the CIC will examine all bank accounts of the private universities. It is confident the move will be successful because all financial transactions of such varsities are made through banks. Registered as non-profit entities, at least a few of them should have maintained a clean sheet. It is as yet premature to predict that all of them have joined the deviated bandwagon.
A few of the most prestigious universities in the world are governed by principles of 'trust' organised at the time of their foundation or later. Unfortunately, here universities in the private sector, although registered under the 'Trust Act' or the 'Societies Registration Act' have right from the beginning followed commercial principles. As 'non-profit' organisations they were supposed to roll back their operational surpluses for development of campus and infrastructure and improvement of quality of education, research and other academic activities. Some of them are still reluctant to move to a permanent campus to be built by their own resources. When this prime requisite is left unattended, one can understand the governing attitude of those who organised or sponsored such educational institutions. True, a few private varsities organise inter-university competitions in order to encourage innovation, creativity and application of theoretical knowledge to practical field. But when it comes to the fabulous amount of tuition fees, it is quite understandable that money actually is the driving force of such organisational activities. Had they been enough mindful of education and its standard in the country, they would have aimed higher in order to challenge not only their counterparts in the public sector but also the very best in the world.
It is exactly at this point, some types of scandalous aberration such as awarding higher grades or issuing certificates to unqualified students for exchange of money got media coverage in the recent past. Strangely, the authorities of those universities were not made to face the law of the land for such crimes. This time again, criminal proceedings were not moved against the tax evaders. All this must be in consideration of the service such universities still render in a country where higher education is a luxury. But reprieves like these are inconsistent with the spirit of education that teaches students to be honest and sincere. Now that the Private University Act, 2010 clearly defines the parameters of manoeuvrability, it is expected that such universities will go by the stated rules and play the role they are expected to.