New regulatory head faces Indian university problem

Indian scientist Ashok Kumar Bakshi is to take over as the new director of the Tertiary Education Commission – and he reportedly faces an early problem concerning recognition of private Indian universities in Mauritius.

Bakshi is a chemistry professor at the University of Delhi and former director of India’s Open University, as well as process development engineer at Gharda Chemicals.

He succeeds Praveen Mohadeb at the Tertiary Education Commission, or TEC, the Mauritian higher education regulatory institution.

L’Express of Port Louis reported that when taking up his new post, Bakshi would have to rule on the status of private Indian universities installed in Mauritius.

In June India’s University Grants Commission, equivalent to the TEC, issued a public notice that no private Indian university had been authorised to establish campuses outside India.

There were several of these institutions in Mauritius, and now there was doubt over whether the diplomas they delivered would be valid, said L’Express.

* This article is drawn from local media. University World News cannot vouch for the accuracy of the original reports.