Dozen varsities in state,Dhumal opens door for more

Despite criticism from ABVP, the BJP govt takes the ordinance route to make setting up campuses easy for private promoters. 8 have come up in the same district within 2 years. 9 more are waiting in the queue

Despite a strong opposition from both within and outside the ruling BJP,the Himachal Pradesh government has cleared two more private universities,including one for which space was made by allegedly knocking down a fragile hill on the Shimla-Kalka National Highway. The two new private universities,which got the state governments nod to become fully operational,are Rayat-Bahara University near Vakhnaghat in Solan and Sai University at Palampur. With this,the number of private universities in this small hill state has gone up to 12. Nine more are in the queue five of them armed with letters of intent (LOIs),says Education Minister Ishwar Dass Dhiman.

The interesting fact about these universities is that except for the Jaypee University of Information Technology,which was set up under a separate Act during the earlier tenure of Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal,the rest have come up within the past two years of the BJP rule. In fact,the state government seems to be in a tearing hurry to open these varsities,so much so that it hasnt even framed any regulatory mechanism to oversee the functioning of the private universities. Besides,a majority of them have come up in Solan district,bordering Chandigarh.

Last week,the state government got separate ordinances promulgated by Governor Urmila Singh to complete the legal process leading to the creation of such universities. The promoters of these universities are being granted LOIs to kickstart construction process and recruitment. The universities are established through a legislation,which,under any ordinary circumstance,is supposed to be enacted by the state Assembly. However,the government doesnt seem to mind helping the promoters by getting ordinances issued speedily so as to make the universities functional. The issue was raised by the Opposition during the Monsoon Session of the Assembly.

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Dhiman,however,doesnt find anything wrong with the way the new private universities are being set up. Once we issue LOIs to the promoters,it imposes a responsibility to grant approvals under the law only when the promoters meet necessary conditions like buying the land,building the campus and recruiting faculty. This involves investments to the tune of Rs 100 crore or more, he says.

The main opposition that the government is facing is in-house the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP),the BJPs students wing. Alleges Naveen Sharma,organising secretary of the ABVP,We are surprised as to how the government,instead of invoking strict norms for existing universities,continues to sanction more and more private universities. Of the 12 functional ones,eight are in a single district. This raises serious doubts about the governments real intentions and claims to make Himachal Pradesh an educational hub.

One of the two latest ones,Rayat Bahara,is at the centre of a controversy for the damage it allegedly caused to a hill on the highway. The issue figured in the Assemblys Monsoon Session,wherein the ruling party MLAs joined the Opposition Congress in questioning the government.

Sharma raises another question about the private universities. We have persistently asked the Chief Minister and the Education Minister to frame a regulatory mechanism for these private universities,besides putting a full stop on new universities as Himachal Pradesh doesnt need so many of these. But what we have got so far is only a lukewarm response.

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He also questions as to why these universities offer only professional courses,fetching the institutions a hefty sum as fees,instead of conventional courses in humanities and sciences. Have these universities agreed to a fee structure framed by the government? Do they have 40 per cent reservation for the poor and meritorious students? asks Sharma.

Two months ago,the government,bowing to public pressure,decided to frame a regulatory mechanism. A Bill was drafted and introduced in the Assembly,proposing the setting up of Regulatory Commission to monitor the functioning of private universities and to look into the complaints regarding their fee structure and compliance of other norms. The Opposition,which agreed to support the move,wanted the law to be stringent. The Bill is currently pending before the Select Committee of the House.

Dhiman admits that a regulatory body is urgently needed to keep a check on these universities. Barring those having got LOIs,we will not accept any new proposal unless the promoters opt to set up universities in educationally backward districts such as Chamba and Sirmaur, he says,adding that the state government will enforce norms regarding the protection of the states ecology.