Central Institute of Buddhist Studies gets deemed university status

NEW DELHI: The Centre today declared the Leh based ‘Central Institute of Buddhist Studies (CIBS) as a deemed to be University in the de novo category on the advice of the University Grants Commission. The status which accords degree granting powers to institutes will be in effect for five years subject to UGC review processes. The deemed university status for CIBS has been notified on on 15th January 2016 for publication in Gazette of India.
This is only the second institution to be given the deemed university status after the 2009 controversy that erupted after the HRD ministry backed Tandon committee recommended blacklisting of over 40 deemed varsities on account of serious quality deficiencies. The last institiution to be given the deemed university status was National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship & Management (NIFTEM) in Haryana.

CIBS will be required to disaffiliate itself for its courses / programmes from Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi and Tibetan Medicines and Astrology Department, Dharamsala. It will also not be permitted to offer any distance education programmes, in keeping with the 2010 regulations for deemed universities.

A statement issued by the Human Resource Development ministry said that the declaration of CIBS as deemed-to-be-university shall be confirmed after five years on the basis of five successive annual performance reports of UGC Expert Committee(s). The CIBS will also be required to amend / update its Memorandum of Association (MoA)/Rules and also carry out amendments if suggested by the Government of India.