E-Paper
JSPM Group of Institutes in Pune awarded ‘private university’ status
Tanaji Sawant, currently a cabinet minister in the Shinde government - will start from the academic year 2023-24 at Wagholi
The state government, in a cabinet meeting held on Thursday, granted ‘private university’ status to the JSPM Group of Institutes that will now be a self-funded university. In the cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Eknath Shinde, it was decided that the new university – the founder-secretary of which is professor Tanaji Sawant, currently a cabinet minister in the Shinde government - will start from the academic year 2023-24 at Wagholi, Haveli taluka, Pune district. Whereas a proposal to this effect will soon be submitted before the state assembly for approval.
Professor Nitin Karmalkar, former vice-chancellor of the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), welcomed the decision of the state government and said, “The new education policy (NEP) is more focused and gives encouragement to more autonomy and degree-granting through autonomous or newly-formed universities. It is a welcome step I must say and it is necessary to increase the number of new universities looking at the number of students coming to Pune city from all across the globe to study. We cannot depend only on one state university and put pressure on that university as many new colleges are starting and they need universities to tie-up with for degree-granting. But at the same time, quality-conscious and better education should be given by these newly-granted universities as students are concerned while taking admission whether the degrees will be recognised or not.”
Tanaji Sawant said, “The curriculum at all our institutions is of best quality and international-level engineers, administrators and management students will come out from our university. This university will start at our Wagholi campus which is spread over 47 acres and from the next academic year, all the necessary facilities, space and environment for quality education to students is been given at our Wagholi campus.”
Whereas the JSPM Group of Institutes is not the first to be granted university status as there are more than 15 other private or government-run universities in Pune. Earlier this year, the state government granted similar status to two other universities in Pune namely, Dr P A Inamdar University and College of Engineering Pune (COEP) Technological Public University. With the JSPM Group awarded ‘private university’ status, there are now 16 universities – both state and private - in Pune district alone, making Pune the only district in Maharashtra having such a large number of universities.
While the main state-run university in Pune is the SPPU under which there are more than 950 affiliated colleges in the Pune, Nashik and Ahmednagar districts. Whereas the other two oldest and ‘deemed to be’ universities in Pune are Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute, and Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics. Both these institutions are among prominent institutes in the country in their respective subjects.
There are many other private universities in Pune with the Symbiosis International University (SIU) at the top of the list, having been ranked 38th in the 2021 National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings. The other private universities in Pune include: MIT World Peace University; Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University; Dr D Y Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune; Ajeenkya D Y Patil University; Vishwakarma University; and Flame University.
