Decks cleared for private varsities bill

Updated on: Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The state cabinet approved the much deliberated upon Private Universities Bill, or Self-Financed Universities Bill. The technical and higher education department has been promoting the bill as one that would lead to the creation of world-class universities in Maharashtra.

If the bill becomes law, it would give private universities a free hand on seat reservation and fee structure. At present, private universities in the state come under University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations, which impose constraints on their functioning.

Under the bill, the eligibility criteria for a private university are: maintaining a mandatory corpus of Rs 5-10 crore; ownership of land not less than 10 acres in the case of urban areas and 100 acres in the case of rural areas.

The bill had earlier been introduced in the legislature in 2005, but was opposed on the contentious issues of reservation and fee structure. It was later referred to an expert committee. Opposition on these issues was also witnessed during Monday’s cabinet meet, with a section of ministers demanding reservation for backward castes and vulnerable sections of society.

Decks cleared for private varsities bill

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