The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Private universities may soon become a reality

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 11, 2006

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Private universities may soon become a reality

R. Ravikanth Reddy

Bill likely to be introduced in the budget session

HYDERABAD: Private universities in the State are going to be a reality soon with the State Government planning to introduce a bill on the issue in the forthcoming budget session of the Assembly..

"In principle, the Government is in favour of allowing private universities to establish their campuses in the State and the modalities are being worked out. In all likelihood, the bill might come through in the budget session," a senior official of the Government told The Hindu on Friday. However, a final decision is yet to be taken.

Chhattisgarh episode

But care is being taken to keep away non-serious players and the norms will help established institutions come forward. "We don't want the Chhattisgarh episode to repeat here, and even the committee that gave a report on private universities has cautioned about non-serious players," says an official.

As per Supreme Court orders, the Legislature has to ratify every university by passing a separate Act unlike the initial order of the Chhattisgarh Government that had a common Act for all universities that led to mushrooming of private universities and diluting the very effort.

The State Government is likely to insist on a corpus fund of Rs. 50 crores to Rs. 100 crores. On land for campus, there is likely to be some flexibility depending on the location.

Officials say that private universities planning to commence operations here will have to abide by the rules of University Grants Commission (UGC) and those framed by the State Government with regard to courses offered, admission procedures and fee structure.

"The bill will have all the checks and balances to ensure that they do not violate State laws." Moreover, these institutions will have to follow all norms of reservations to ensure social justice.

The Government, according to an official, is of the opinion that private universities will only enhance the learning opportunities and cater to the growing needs of students. This apart, they will also pep up existing universities to compete to attract the best talent. "Their establishment will not undermine the traditional universities as is the perception. This is an effort to invite the best institutions for the benefit of students."

APSCHE report

A committee constituted by the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) gave its recommendations in favour of establishing private universities, but with lot of caution. The committee felt that private universities should be residential teaching and research institutes promoting excellence. A good campus with quality teaching faculty was another pre-requisite suggested.

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