In order to attract private investment in higher education, the government should allocate land free of cost for 999 years to set up educational institutions, a plan panel committee headed by NR Narayana Murthy has suggested.
A national convention on Higher Education on Monday denounced the three bills introduced by the government for the control of private institutions and universities, as “draconian.”
It seems imminent, a whole lot of private universities are coming up in the state and are bound to knock traditional universities down a notch (or two) with their breakthrough numbers.
In a previous op-ed (India fails test of 'knowledge economy', Asia Times Online, November 30, 2012), I drew attention to what can be called a "research deficit" in India's higher education. In it, I mentioned a study by Thomson Reuters according to which India produced only 3.5% of the global research output in 2010 and its contribution in most disciplines - including mathematics and computer science - was lower than its overall average.
Will the 13 proposed private universities do what the professional colleges did for Karnataka? Both the government and the academics vouch for the need to have private sector participation in higher education and welcome the state legislature's nod to have 13 new private universities in the state. Presently, the state has two private varsities, the Alliance University and Azim Premji University.
When the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulations of Entry and Operations) Bill was introduced in parliament in 2010, no less than 50 foreign universities showed interest in setting up operations in India. Two years down the line, their interest seems to have dwindled
Fifteen bills including Private Universities Act and Foreign Education Providers’ Bill are pending in parliament. On the role of private players in the field, he felt that most of the courses offered were market-driven and not holistic. Private players are showing more interest in professional courses in engineering and medicine, he said.
In a sudden development, the Maharashtra government has dropped the plan to introduce a special act to regulate private universities, which are expected to come up in large numbers. This sudden U-turn by the government came even though the cabinet had cleared the bill by the state higher and technical education department on December 13.
In an effort to broaden the spectrum of higher education, the state government is set to rope in private players and impart quality education at the university level. The effort of the Trinamool government is seen as a step ahead of the erstwhile government's decision to set up a private technical institute of higher learning, like the Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication at Kalyani, which didn't materialize.
Higher education reform in India, including proposed bills to allow in foreign universities, has hit another snag after the party leading central government performed below expectations in elections in three out of five states – reducing its room for manoeuvre in pushing key bills through parliament.
Several private universities have opposed some of the higher education bills, making it even more difficult for the government to gain support in parliament.
A private Indian university plans to open a campus for 15,000 foreign students in London, it was announced today as Boris Johnson continued his whirlwind tour of the country to promote links with the United Kingdom.
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday gave a speech calling for better standards and an enhanced private-sector role in higher education, Outlook India reported.
The bill seeking to set up six private universities in the State would pave the way for enhancing the quality of higher education, Higher Education Minister C T Ravi has said.