New Delhi/Munger, Oct. 10: Trust a yoga institute to turn a trend on its head.
Amid the mad rush among colleges for deemed university status — over 200 applications are pending — Bihar Yoga Bharati has become the first institution ever to apply to have the tag taken away.
The Munger-based institute, declared a deemed university 10 years ago for its eminence in nurturing the yoga tradition, has cited financial difficulties as the reason for its request, a government source said.
“The institute’s request has been received by the Union human resource development ministry and the University Grants Commission and is under consideration,” the source told The Telegraph.
“The institute has cited financial problems. It wants to revert to being a college and get affiliated to a university in Bihar.”
Deemed universities do not usually receive government grants but are generally able to more than make up for this through tuition fees, consultancy and other projects. They can start distance education courses, innovative programmes, off-centres and the like.
Bihar Yoga Bharati, run by the renowned Bihar School of Yoga, has apparently failed to utilise these options. It may be hoping to receive grants once it becomes an ordinary college, a UGC official said.
The institute’s plight suggests that premier yoga schools may be losing out to the proliferating private yoga coaching centres and yoga gurus, who often charge hefty fees and attract high-profile clients — sometimes from Hollywood.
The courses offered by Bihar Yoga Bharati are far better, said Brajendar Kuwar, a senior lawyer at Munger court who was once attached to the institute. “But people today think that yoga is synonymous with Baba Ramdev.”
“Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogpeeth craves media coverage but the Bihar Yoga Bharati prefers to keep the media outside its campus,” a local journalist said.
A Bihar Yoga Bharati source denied “any financial crunch or shortage of students” but would not explain the reason for the request for withdrawal of the deemed tag.
But he added that since 2005, the institute had stopped functioning like a “full-fledged deemed university” and had scrapped its one- and two-year degree programmes for four-month certificate courses in Hindi and English.
The source said half the students came from abroad. “During the last course, there were 68 students for the Hindi programme and 83 for the English.”
The monthly fee ranges from Rs 1,700 to Rs 2,500 — foreigners are charged higher than Indians — and includes lodging and meals. In comparison, a wellness centre in Calcutta charges about Rs 3,500 a month for 20 classes.
The institute has three faculties: yoga philosophy (which researches ancient theories and practices), yoga psychology (which teaches mind management) and applied yogic sciences (yogic therapy research and applied yoga).
