-Devendra Kumar Budakoti
The Artificial Intelligence-AI summit held in New Delhi in February 2026, was an international summit held in Indian soil, which featured over 300 exhibitors from 30 countries.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly, till the Galgotias university episode tarnished the image of Indian AI and the standards of private universities in India. The controversy at the summit started when the university was accused of presenting a Chinese-made robotic dog as its own in-house, “made in India” innovation. The incident led to widespread social media ridicule and subsequently led to a debate regarding academic integrity in private Universities and teaching standards across educational institutions in India.
The AI dog display by Galgotias University and the reaction in the social media opened the Pandora’s Box of higher education in India.
This episode also opened debate and discussion in various media on the very foundation of higher education in private institutions.
It is well know that the private universities in India depend entirely on student’s fees for their growth and sustainability. In a system were the only source of revenue is through the student’s tuition fees and this in turn depends on the enrollment figures. With increasing competitions, the strategy is to go all out to market their university. While all well known educational institution Viz. IITs, IIMs, AIIMS, and other government Medical, Engineering and some known private universities who don’t have to market their university, most private universities have to rely heavily on marketing strategy, to lure enough students to their campus. One of the popularly method is to advertise and hype their job placement records. One can see advertisement in media, Viz. Newspapers, TV and Billboards on the highways.
The buildings, laboratories, infrastructure, campus amenities creates an aura of excellence of the university. In a country where large numbers of students do not get admission in government educational institutions, there is little option but to mobilize funds to join private institutions.
The education sector in most countries is government funded and or supported through grants. It is said that many foreign universities are also sustaining because of overseas students, particularly from India and China and other third world countries.
In India, while questioning the teaching standards in private institutions, let us not forget the teaching, infrastructural standard and faculty positions in government institutions, right from primary school, high schools, colleges and universities.
Look at the position of our government schools, where enrollment is declining down the years and parents prefer to send their children to private schools. What an irony that government teachers own children are not going to government schools and every B.Ed pass out is longing to join government school. What does all this indicate!
While the Galgotias university dared to show the Chinese AI dog as their own innovation thereby created furore and leading to debate and discussion on the teaching standards in the country. A private university affair has thus become a public issue, and this is what is called “The Sociological Imagination”, when a private affair becomes a public issue.
To examine into a public issue, there is need for public policy initiative and the government needs to take a call on this serious matter.
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The author is a sociologist and alumni of JNU New Delhi. His research work is cited in the books of Nobel Laureat Prof. Amartya Sen
