The government and the UGC are not known to have acted on Galgotias University, the private institution that caused massive embarrassment to the nation by displaying at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi a Chinese-made robot as an in-house innovation on February 18.

Unlike the prompt action taken against several other universities for various violations over the years, the silence of the education ministry and the UGC on Galgotias has drawn sharp criticism from academics. The varsity had been made to vacate its pavilion at the AI summit after the fiasco, but no follow-up action is known to have been taken.

The academics drew attention to strong measures taken by the government and the UGC against Delhi University in 2014 for running a four-year undergraduate programme, and against Sangai International University in Manipur’s Churachandpur for failing to provide required information on complying with UGC regulations.

A former UGC chairman, who did not wish to be identified, said the least the government could have done was to seek an explanation from Galgotias University.

“The UGC has the power to withdraw the recognition of any university under Section 2(f) of the UGC Act. But before that, the minimum that can be done is to seek an explanation from the university concerned, in this case, Galgotias University, about the lapses. There is no doubt that the incident maligned the name of India at an international forum,” he said.

Sources in the education ministry said Galgotias University had not been asked for any explanation. “The government, it seems, wants the issue to die down slowly. After some time, nobody will ask about it,” the source said.

The former vice-chancellor of a state university said: “The government’s silence on Galgotias University shows that the government is selective in taking action. Is it because Galgotias University has been a strong supporter of the policies of the government when a university is expected to critically examine them?”

The professor cited a published paper by researchers of Galgotias University in 2020 supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to people to beat plates and clap to create a collective energy to fight the coronavirus.

The paper titled “Coronavirus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Gnati: A Potential Hypothesis” says “there is hope to kill the virus via sound vibrations”.

The professor also cited protests by students of Galgotias University against the Congress for the “failure of the previous UPA governments”.

“Can political affinity become immunity for an institution to get away with wrongdoing? Many private universities are following this model. Their number is increasing,”
he said.

A senior ministry official said the UGC’s “selective actions” had led to “arbitrary functioning” by private universities. A case is pending in the Supreme Court after a student of the Noida-based Amity University was allegedly harassed over her request to change her name in the university records.

The Telegraph sent an email to higher education secretary Vineet Joshi, who holds the additional charge of UGC chairperson, to understand his perspective on why no action had been taken against Galgotias University. A separate email has been sent to the vice-chancellor of Galgotias University, K. Mallikarjun Babu, asking about the summit fiasco. Their responses are awaited.