Even as the Uttar Pradesh government prepares to bring in a Bill to regulate private universities in the state, those who came here and invested heavily to set up educational institutions to raise the standard of education in UP are apprehensive. They feel that once the Bill becomes an Act, it will affect their autonomy and be counter-productive in a number of ways.

While the Private Universities of Uttar Pradesh Welfare Association has written to the UP government voicing their concern,their are few important issues likely to arise if the Bill becomes an Act and prove detrimental to not only their functioning but also to the state’s education system at large.

Governor’s role

• Under the provision of the Bill, the governor of the state has been given wide ranging powers as “visitor”, whereby he can interfere in and dominate day-to-day functioning of universities. The governor will preside over the convocation and approve conferment of honorary degrees. These are academic events and only the university should be entitled to have control, the association feels.
• Besides, chancellors and vice-chancellors can be removed only with prior approval of the governor. Chancellors at present have the power to appoint/remove vice-chancellors. The Act will render them powerless. This is a direct encroachment on the autonomy of a private university, which is conceived by academic and intellectual entrepreneurship of private sponsors and established with the help of purely private funds and finances.
• Under this Act, the state’s council of ministers will advise and aid the governor while officers and bureaucrats will execute his orders. Private players who made financial investment and took the initiative to found universities will lose this prerogative given under the existing policy for private universities. Their choice will be subject to decisions of the governor. It will open floodgates for interference in the university’s affairs by the political class and bureaucrats.

Regulatory authority

• The Bill has provision for a regulatory authority that will regulate functioning of universities. Its chairman and members will be appointed by the state government. It will have powers to ascertain standards of teaching, examination and research, etc. It can take custody of records and results of students and approve their final degrees and charge fees. It can issue directions if it feels universities are not complying. The VC has to execute any direction given by the authority.
• The provision of an authority is complete reversal of principle of autonomous functioning of a private university. Private players who established universities with their own funds and efforts will recede into the background and their inspiration and will for philanthropy will be killed.

Committee of academic experts

• A committee of academic experts will periodically review universities’ standards. It will have two nominees from the state government. It will send a report to the state government periodically. This is gross interference in academic functioning of private universities. This is outside the legislative competence of state legislature and hence outside the jurisdiction of the state government. The competent authority for this is the UGC.

Interference by state government

• The Bill will allow the state government to interfere in the day-to-day affairs of a university. It will have a say in reservation in recruitments and allocation of seats to students in SC, ST and OBC categories. And, the VC is duty-bound to execute decisions of the state government.
• An officer of the higher education department of the rank of joint secretary and above, and judicial officer above district judge, nominated by state government, will be members of the executive council. The state government can issue policy directions to the university and can take action in case of perceived non-compliance. This intrusion into the executive council by having officers as members is arbitrary and incongruous with the original scheme of the private university policy.
• Fee fixation
• The Bill proposes to regulate fees to be charged by private universities for academic programmes. The executive council has to intimate the regulatory authority about its fee structure. The authority has powers to suggest changes. The right to fix, collect and spend fees in a private educational institution is an essential part of the fundamental right to occupation — under Article 19 (1) (G)—of persons who are sponsors of the university. Conferring power in matter of fee fixation upon a regulatory authority is a gross violation of that right.

Liquidation and dissolution of university

• The regulatory authority is given special powers to take action against private universities on allegations of mismanagement and maladministration. It can send a show-cause notice to university, order an inquiry, recommend to the state government for liquidation and dissolution of the university and appointment of administrator.

Over-riding effect of Act

• This Act will over-ride provisions in any other law made by the state legislature relating to universities. It supersedes every other Act relating to universities. This has the potential to annihilate every Act under which private universities were established and now operate, as these Acts will be found to be different from and contrary to the provisions in the proposed Act, and hence, will stand superseded by it. This section will also result in repeal of all individual Acts of every private university.