New Delhi, Oct. 7: The human resource development ministry has withdrawn the deemed university tag for the National School of Drama which wanted to give up the status to move forward its plea to become an institution of national importance or a special university.

The institute was conferred the status in 2005 on the recommendation of the UGC. It, however, never implemented the deemed university status and functioned as a diploma-awarding institute. It wrote to the ministry to withdraw the status so that it can pursue its objective to get the status of an institution of national importance or a special university by an act of Parliament.

“Most of the teachers of NSD do not have a master’s degree as there is hardly any institute in the country offering master’s degrees in music and drama. The institute feared that the teachers, most of them performing artistes, may lose their jobs if the UGC regulations are implemented,” a source said.

According to the UGC rules, the minimum eligibility for faculty members in a deemed university is a master’s degree with the qualification of the National Eligibility Test.

When the HRD ministry reviewed the functioning of the existing deemed universities by an expert committee in 2009, the NSD along with three other institutes — the Bihar Yoga Bharati, Indian Law Institute and the Pune-based Deccan College — did not participate in the exercise.

The NSD gave the same argument that it has never implemented the status of deemed university. It said the deemed university status would undermine the professional training, autonomy and flexibility required in the creative field like theatre. The ministry of culture, the administrative authority for the NSD, is likely to bring a bill in Parliament for conferring the status to institution of national importance or a special university.

Another deemed university, the Bihar Yoga Bharati, which is credited with nurturing a long tradition of yoga and declared a deemed university a decade ago, has written to the HRD ministry seeking withdrawal of the deemed status. “No decision has been taken on its request,” a source said.

The ministry has not decided what action should be taken in the case of the Indian Law Institute and the Deccan College.

There are 130 deemed universities in the country, while 126 of them participated in the review exercise. Forty-four institutes were found to be unworthy for the status and 44 others were found to be deficient in many counts. Only 38 deemed universities were found to be deserving institutes. The government has accepted the recommendation. However, the matter has been challenged in the Supreme Court.