Pvt varsities free of govt control in the pipeline

NEW DELHI: Education in India could turn the page to a new chapter with the Prime Minister’s Office asking the human resource development ministry to fast-track a plan to set up 10 private autonomous universities for research and innovation.

The move could pave the way for world-class private institutions for higher studies to come up in the country.

These institutes, unlike the current lot of private universities regulated by the University Grants Commission, will be free of government control and have their own curriculum and fees. They will have full autonomy in hiring faculty and all other aspects of administration, sources said.

On the lines of Stanford and Princeton universities in the US, these universities will provide students modern infrastructure for research and innovation in different fields, including information and technology, medicine, agriculture and biotechnology.

“The directive from the PMO is being deliberated in the ministry and we could soon come out with a framework to set up such universities,” an HRD ministry official said. But another official said there was no clarity on how this could be achieved.

“If these are set up through an act of Parliament such as insti tutes of national importance including AIIMS, IITS or NITS the government will have to pass separate bills for each university Again, if they come into exist ence by modifying the UGC act they will have to follow the regu latory body’s guidelines,” he said