The human resources development minister, Mr Kapil Sibal, clarified on Tuesday that not a single student of any failed "deemed university" would be affected.  He also indicated that he would scrap the granting of such status in future. "Not a single child, not a single student will be adversely affected. Students of that university will get a degree," he said at the social editors conference here.

The assurance came as violence erupted in one of the "deemed" institutions near Chennai which was stripped of its status, where students went on the rampage, damaging computers and boycotting classes. Of the 44 institutes de-registered nationwide, 17 are in Tamil Nadu.

Mr Sibal explained, "The government has accepted the findings of the expert committee and submitted it to Supreme Court... which will decide on the course of action. The Supreme Court will decide. We will take care of all the students."