MUMBAI: Amid growing concerns over paper leaks, invalid degrees, opaque admission processes and excessive or unaccounted fees putting students’ academic futures at risk, the Maharashtra government has decided to take a fresh look at the rules governing private universities in the state.
The higher and technical education department, through a government resolution (GR) issued on August 14, has appointed a committee to review the existing criteria for setting up private universities and recommend changes to strengthen their regulation, infrastructure and academic standards.
Its recommendations could eventually lead to amendments to the Maharashtra Private Universities Act, 2023, and the rules framed under it. The committee has been given two months to submit its report to the government. The panel will be headed by professor Bhushan Patwardhan, former vice-chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and vice-chancellor of Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute, Pune. Former Savitribai Phule Pune University vice-chancellor professor Nitin Karmalkar and senior officials from the higher education and technical education departments are among its members. Academic quality will also be a major focus of the review. The committee will examine the experience of institutions seeking to establish universities, their NAAC accreditation, NBA and NIRF rankings, faculty qualifications, student-teacher ratios, research publications, patents and innovation. For students and parents, some of the most significant areas under review will be admissions and fees. The committee will examine admission procedures, fee fixation, reservation policies, online admission systems and mechanisms for addressing student grievances. The government has also included recruitment practices within the scope of the review. The committee will assess whether private universities follow transparent procedures while appointing teaching and non-teaching staff, whether salaries are appropriate and whether employees receive equal opportunities. The review comes at a time when private universities have become an increasingly important part of the higher education landscape, making the quality of institutions, degrees and student services a matter of direct concern for thousands of students and their families.
