Student and youth unions in Mumbai on Saturday opposed the private universities Bill recently passed by the Maharashtra legislature without discussion and amid ruckus.
Students and academics pointed to the lack of a provision for reservations, absence of fee regulation and redress mechanism, and an overall free hand given in appointing university head and other staff.
The Act titled Maharashtra Self-Financed Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Act, envisages private investment in higher education. It has for its objectives, the development of various streams in higher education from sciences to humanities, fostering of research and creation of centres of excellence among others.
“The government passed the Bill in a hurry. This shows that they have a lot to hide. There is no provision for participation of students, like you have in the Maharashtra Universities Act through the Senate. There is no provision for reservations anywhere, neither for students, teachers or non-teaching staff. There is only a vague mention of affirmative action. Secondly, there is no regulation on fees. The Supreme Court has allowed private institutions to fix their fees, but [has] also called for a comprehensive fee regulation Act, which is pending in Maharashtra,” Varadraj Bapat, vice president of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) said at a conference on the Bill.
Mr. Bapat said no eligibility criteria were stipulated for the appointment of presidents of such universities.
“Anyone can become the president. And this president, arbitrarily chosen, will then appoint the vice chancellor and others. We have to oppose this Bill. This is part of a process of shutting down government-aided colleges and institutions and handing it all to the private sector. But when things are given to the private sector, there are regulations.”
Sainath Durge of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's students' wing called for the need to form an Action Committee to oppose the Bill and start an andolan .
Under the clause of affirmative action, the Bill states: “The Self-financed Universities shall make supportive plan for educational enhancement of the weaker sections of society, i.e. women, poor, low income group and domiciled in the State, through special provision and will take affirmative action in this regard.”
The Students Federation of India said it was “totally opposed” to the Bill. “The 93{+r}{+d} amendment to the Constitution includes private educational institutions, along with aided and unaided, for making special provisions [for SCs/STs]. If the government says we need these universities for emerging syllabi, then these provisions can be made in existing universities. Thirdly, there is no representation of students, teachers and non-teaching staff as there are no senate elections. So, if you face injustice, there is nowhere to go,” Shrikant Bhosale of the Students' Federation of India told The Hindu on the phone.
Many saw the Bill as a step in the overall shift towards privatisation and commoditisation of education.
Taking a cautious stand, National Students' Union of India, affiliated to the Congress, said that if changes were not incorporated to the existing legislation, they would oppose it.
“Our team is studying the Bill. We will meet the Chief Minister and suggest changes which would benefit the students. If they are not incorporated, we will stand opposed,” Suraj Singh Thakur of NSUI said.
Taking advantage of a ruckus in both the Houses, the government hastened to pass the Bill, with hardly any dissent from the Opposition parties, pointing to a general consensus.
The lone objection was voiced by MLC Kapil Patil, who was not allowed to have his say, and the Bill was passed as he was speaking. Mr. Patil said there was a need to define “weaker sections.”
Responding to the objections raised, Higher and Technical Education Minister Rajesh Tope told The Hindu over telephone: “Other States have not made provisions for reservation [in private universities]. We can't make it compulsory. As for fee regulation, when the government is not spending a single penny, how can we dictate them [universities]?”
