Sri Vijaya Puram | February 10, 2026
The Students Federation of India (SFI) has urged the Government of India and the Andaman & Nicobar Administration to reconsider the decision to disaffiliate colleges in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands from Pondicherry University, warning that the move could severely impact higher education in the islands.
A resolution to this effect was adopted at a meeting of the SFI held at Sri Vijaya Puram on Monday. The organisation expressed “grave concern and anguish” over what it described as the continued neglect of students’ demands for the retention of affiliation of all seven island colleges with Pondicherry University.
Moving the resolution, Abdul Warish, Convener of the SFI Andaman & Nicobar State Organising Committee, said that the affiliation of the island colleges with Pondicherry University was a settled matter following the establishment of the Central University through an Act of Parliament in 1985, with colleges affiliating from the academic session 1988–89. He noted that Pondicherry University enjoys national recognition and that degrees issued by it are widely accepted across the country.
The SFI meeting observed that following the establishment of the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Institute of Higher Learning as a Deemed University, the Government of India, through a notification dated March 8, 2024, affiliated all seven existing colleges in the islands with the new institution. According to the SFI, this effectively led to the unilateral disaffiliation of the colleges from Pondicherry University.
The organisation expressed concern that examination-related matters and other academic responsibilities of thousands of students, including medical students, have been transferred to the newly established Deemed University, which, it alleged, lacks adequate infrastructure, academic personnel and institutional capacity. The SFI further pointed out that the Deemed University has been formed under a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1960, and does not have the statutory backing enjoyed by State or Central universities.
The meeting also noted that the Deemed University is currently functioning from a single-room office in the Jawaharlal Nehru Rajkeeya Mahavidyalaya (JNRM) complex and is being managed by an Officer on Special Duty. Affiliating the existing colleges with such an institution, the SFI said, could adversely affect the quality of higher education in the islands.
Concerns were also raised about a possible increase in student fees under the Deemed University system, which, according to the SFI, could disproportionately affect students from economically weaker sections, particularly those from rural areas, and limit access to higher education.
The SFI criticised the authorities for opting to restructure affiliations instead of strengthening existing institutions. It highlighted that several colleges are currently functioning without regular principals, with many teaching posts vacant and academic work being carried out largely by guest, ad hoc and contract faculty.
The meeting concluded with a decision by the SFI to launch agitation programmes against the disaffiliation decision.
