Kerala Paves The Way For Private Universities

Kerala has opened the roads for private universities in the state. A special Cabinet meeting today has  approved the draft legislation permitting private universities in Kerala. The government is going to  introduce the Bill in the ongoing session of the Assembly.  

The draft Bill specifies  that an  agency having experience and credibility in the education sector can apply for a private university. There is a minimum land requirement as has been specified  by regulatory bodies and a corpus fund of ₹25 crore should be deposited in the treasury.

In case of  a multi-campus university, the headquarters should have an area of at least 10 acres. Guidelines of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the State government should be followed in the appointments to the administrative leadership, including that of the Vice-Chancellor and faculty, the draft legislation says.

Notably, the draft legislation says that a  total of 40% seats in each course will have to be reserved for students permanently domiciled in Kerala and the prevailing rules for reservation of seats for SC/ST candidates will be applicable in these seats. Students in the SC/ST categories shall be eligible for fee concessions as well as scholarships.  

The private universities will not be eligible for any financial assistance from the government. Nevertheless, faculty members can approach research bodies for grants. Kerala’s higher education secretary along with  another state government nominated secretary will be members of governing council of the private universities that aim to open venture in Kerala. A State government nominee shall be a member of the private university executive council.

In addition there will have to be the featuring of three state government nominees in the academic council of these universities. The universities shall have a mechanism to protect the democratic rights of the teachers, employees and the students besides grievance redress systems.