Private University Act to be tabled for approval

BANGALORE: The draft of the Private University Act, 2012, prepared by the Karnataka State Higher Education Council (KSHEC), is ready and will be placed before the Executive Committee on Thursday for approval.The Act, which is said to be on the lines of the Karnataka State Universities (KSU) Act, 2000, seeks to break away from the University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulation of 2003 that necessitates a separate Act for every private university.The legislation seeks a common framework for governing private varsities of the state, with many private institutions coming forward to set up universities.So far, two private universities - Azim Premji University and Alliance University - have been established und e r t w o s e p a r a t e enactments.A preamble draft of the Act, a copy of which is with Express, reads: “An Act to establish and incorporate in Karnataka a University of Global Standards in the private sector that would be comparable to any in the world in so far as education, research and community service activities are concerned.” The draft, with seven chapters, dwells on “sponsoring body” - a society registered under the Society Registration Act, 1860, or a company registered under Companies Act, 1956.Also, the chancellor of a private university will be an eminent educationist appointed by the sponsoring body.The Governor and minister for higher education will act as the “visitor” and “pro-visitor”, which may be considered as equivalents of Chancellor and Pro-Chancellor in the KSU Act.Also, the KSHEC has drafted “rules governing the eligibility and procedure to submit proposal for establishing a private university in the state”.“The rules will specify the minimum land and other pre-requisites to start a private university in the state,” said an official.Highly-placed sources in the KSHEC say the drafts in will be approved in fourth executive committee meeting, following which will be placed before the KSHEC General Council, chaired by the CM.