The Haryana government has accused Ashoka University of not admitting enough Haryana domicile students or giving them a fee concession, as is mandated by the state’s Private Universities Act, 2006.
Haryana's higher education department, alleging "financial embezzlement," has issued a show-cause notice to the institution in connection with this.
The university, however, has denied the allegation.
The government claimed that the university has violated both the admission and fee criteria by “fudging figures, making it a blatant case of maladministration and misinformation."
The state further said that they would register a criminal case, if the university did not respond to the show-cause notice within the given time.
Ashoka told The Indian Express that it had "strictly followed" the reservations mandate by the state's Private Universities Act.
It also said that it offered "generous financial aid to more than 45% of its students" well beyond the requirements of the act.
It claimed that over 3,500 students have been supported over the years with over Rs 325 crores in scholarships.
A merit-based admission policy, applied uniformly to students from Haryana and general category, was followed as per Section 35 of the act.
Further, pointing to an analysis of applications from Haryana domiciled students, it added that no meritorious candidate was denied admission.
Misconceived Notice, Unwarranted Allegations: Ashoka University Responds
Responding to the notice, an Ashoka University spokesperson told The Quint that the notice is "totally misconceived and contrary to the provisions of the Haryana Private Universities Act."
"Ashoka University complies with all requirements of the Haryana Private Universities Act and all state and national higher education regulations in both letter and spirit," the spokesperson said.
They also said:
"The allegations of misinformation and embezzlement of funds are completely unwarranted. The University has a holistic merit-based admissions process and is funded by philanthropic donations."
Addressing the allegations, the spokesperson said that the university follows a merit-based admission policy, which has been applied equally to students from Haryana and those from the general category.
"Seats that were not filled from the Haryana quota have remained largely unfilled, despite a provision for transfer of seats to other categories," they said.
What Does the Haryana Private Universities Act Say?
A university is supposed to reserve at least 25 percent of seats for admissions for students of Haryana domicile
Out of this, 10 percent seats shall be reserved for students belonging to the Scheduled Castes.
The university is also required to provide fee concessions for such students – one-fifth of 25 percent are to be granted full fee concession.
Two-fifth of the 25 percent are to be granted 50 percent concession.
The remaining are to get a 25 percent concession.
(With inputs from The Indian Express.)
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