Fate of bill on private varsities in limbo

Updated on: Wednesday, December 07, 2011

On August 10, both the houses of the state legislature passed the Maharashtra Self-Financed Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Bill, which provides for setting-up of self-financed universities in the state.

Nearly three months later, the fate of the bill hangs in balance.

Immediately after the bill was passed, a section of leaders, including leader of Opposition Eknath Khadse, RPI leader Ramdas Athavale and former Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, had demanded its rejection, saying there was no provision of constitutional reservation in the proposed universities.

Following the large number of representations against the bill, governor K Sankaranarayanan, to whom the bill had been sent for assent, sought information from chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and higher and technical education minister Rajesh Tope. Chavan and Tope were supposed to brief the governor on the row and how the government proposed to tackle it, but none of them has done so.

The Raj Bhavan had also asked the state government to secure information on the status of reservation in private universities set up in other states. It was observed that four states—Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Assam—have enacted laws for setting up of self-financed universities.

While the Gujarat Act provides for reservation as per the state’s policy on reservation, the Acts enacted by Haryana and Himachal Pradesh provide for reservation as prescribed in the Constitution. The Assam Act, however, is silent on the reservation policy.

According to a senior cabinet member, Tope had, during the drafting of the bill, specifically submitted that thought should be given to provision of constitutional reservation. However, his proposal was rejected on the grounds that such a provision may deter leading industrial houses and entrepreneurs from participating in the process of setting-up private universities in the state.

A STUDY IN APATHY?

    On August 10, both the houses of the state legislature passed the Maharashtra Self-Financed Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Bill

    Immediately after the bill was passed, a section of leaders demanded its rejection, saying there was no provision of constitutional reservation in the proposed universities

    Following the large number of representations against the bill, governor K Sankaranarayanan, to whom the bill had been sent for assent, sought information from chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and higher and technical education minister Rajesh Tope on the row and how the government proposed to tackle it

    Chavan and Tope are yet to brief the governor

Fate of bill on private varsities in limbo

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