Maharashtra government's new policy may turn aided colleges into private universities soon

The Maharashtra government has decided to prepare a clear policy for aided private institutions that want to become private universities. The goal is to create a structured and practical framework. This comes after a long-standing demand from such institutions.

A four-member committee has been formed to draft the policy. It is headed by Dr Bhushan Patwardhan, former vice chairperson of the University Grants Commission. The committee has been given two months to submit its report.

The panel includes the Director of Higher Education, the Joint Director of Higher Education (Pune), and the Deputy Secretary (University Education) from the Higher and Technical Education Department. The Joint Director of Higher Education (Pune) will act as the coordinator and member-secretary.

The committee has an eight-point agenda to define standards for institutions based on infrastructure, academic performance, and research quality. It will also examine cases where institutions have received government land and will make recommendations based on those findings.

Before finalising the policy, the government will study some factors like academic quality, technical needs, financial impact, and administrative issues.

The policy will also address financial support from the government. This includes salary grants, non-salary grants, and provident fund provisions for employees. It will also state that approval from both teaching and non-teaching staff is required before considering such proposals.

Protecting the rights of existing employees is also a focus. The draft policy will follow the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016, and the Maharashtra Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Act, 2023. The final report is expected within two months.

The committee will also study ways to control fees for general category students. It will make sure that reservation policies for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes are protected. In addition, the panel will examine whether such institutions can be developed into multidisciplinary universities as suggested in the National Education Policy 2020.