Banned universities operating from RAK

More than 500 students have been forced to shuttle daily between Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah to attend classes, after three academic institutions were forced out of Dubai recently, the management of the institutions said.

A senior official of the Knowledge and Human Development in an interview to the Arabic daily, Emarat Al Youm said three universities operating from free zones in Dubai have been closed, while six others are under scrutiny.

Mohammed Darwish, head of the Systems and Control Section at the authority, said that they cancelled the commercial and academic licenses of UEIMS Medical Science University, Mahatma Gandhi University, and International Institute for Management and Technology [different entity than the DIAC-based Institute of Management Technology], Emarat Al Youm reported.

“We have been operating in Ras Al Khaimah for the last three months. All our students continue to attend classes regularly and we have organised transport facilities to these students from Dubai. It is just that these students have been forced to spend about three to four additional hours on the road because of the KHDA’s decision,” said one senior official.

Both Mahatma Gandhi University, and the UEIMS Medical Science University is being managed by Sudhir Gopi Holdings.

According to Darwish, the authority had to cancel the licenses of these universities as their programmes did not match the quality of education followed by their mother university.

“Also some of them did not belong to the original universities, and they were just using the names under special agreement with the original universities. This is against our rules as all the universities must be real branches of well-known universities in their mother country. This is a must as the students who graduated from these universities did not get their certificates attested by the mother university, and thus we acted to protect the rights of students.”

A senior official from the management of MG University’s campus here said, “The University which is based in Kerala is managed by the state government and we have been granted permission to run the overseas campus here in the UAE. We started our operations here since 2001 and have had no complaints from the University. More than 200 students are passing out every year and we have had no complaints,” said the official.

“The KHDA wants the UAE campus to be directly handled by the University authorities. But the Kerala government is not willing to do so,” he added.

Commenting on the KHDA’s claim that these institutions were just using the names, he said, “MG University has been issuing graduation certificates to all our students.”
Courses offered at the institution includes Bachelor of Science, Business Administration and Commerce, among others.

Similarly, officials said that UEIMS Medical Science University in the UAE is a campus of the International University of the Health Sciences, St. Kitts, West Indies for MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) programme.

“The programme is accredited, recognised and approved by the Charter of the government of St. Christopher & Nevis also listed in the World Health Organisation (WHO) World directory of medical school. The programme enables its graduates to appear for licensing examinations worldwide including USMLE, PLAB and Medical Council of India Screening Test for foreign medical graduates,” the official said.
According to officials the campus in the UAE has clinical attachments with several hospitals across India, Pakistan, Seychelles, Jordan, Tanzania and in the United States.
 

Dubai shuts down 3 free zone universities

Three universities operating from free zones in Dubai have been closed, while six others are under scrutiny, a top official from Knowledge and Human Development Authority said.

Mohammed Darwish, head of the Systems and Control Section at the authority, said that they cancelled the commercial and academic licenses of UEIMS Medical Science University, Mahatma Gandhi University, and International Institute for Management and Technology, Emarat Al Youm reported.

He did not mention the number of students who were affected by these decisions. However, he said the universities were asked to help the students and transfer them to other universities.

“Some of the universities which were closed down or put under test have gone to operate in other emirates which do not follow strict procedures and rules,” he said.

He said the authority had to cancel the licenses of these universities as their programmes did not match the quality of education followed by their mother university.

“Also some of them did not belong to the original universities, and they were just using the names under special agreement with the original universities. This is against our rules as all the universities must be real branches of well-known universities in their mother country. This is a must as the students who graduated from these universities did not get their certificates attested by the mother university, and thus we acted to protect the rights of students.”

Currently, there are 16,000 students studying in 32 international universities and colleges in the free zone areas. Of these, 2,300 UAE national students are studying to get higher degrees.
 

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