New Delhi February 20:
A bill to set up 12 Central universities in as many states and converting some existing ones to the same status was passed by Lok Sabha tonight.
The Central Universities Bill, 2009, which was passed by a voice vote, aimed at creating one new Central university each in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
It also seeks to convert Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya in Chhattisgarh, Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya in Madhya Pradesh and Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna University in Uttarakhand into Central universities. Replying to a debate on the bill, Minister of State for HRD D Purandeshwari said the aim of spending six per cent of GDP on education has to be shared by the Centre and the state governments and urged states not to reduce their share of expenditure in this regard.
In order to address regional imbalances in higher educational facilities in states, some of which were lagging behind, 16 states were identified for setting up of Central universities, she said. She also promised to take action in case educational institutions were charging hefty capitation fees, asserting that education should be accessible both in terms of facilities and the fees charged.
The Centre was working on a scheme to provide educational loans to needy students to pursue higher studies, the Minister said, adding that 304 educationally-backward blocks had been identified to establish educational institutions. Earlier during the debate, members sought more allocation on education to make it affordable and wanted the government to take stringent action against private institutions charging capitation fees. They also sought more autonomy for educational institutions.
Replying to objections raised by CPI(M)'s Varkala Radhakrishnan and BJP's Rassa Singh Rawat on the government issuing an ordinance on January 15, just weeks before the session, Purandeshwari said this was done as there was an urgency to implement the measure well before the next academic session and the House was not in session.
She said it was done to expedite the process of appointing Vice Chancellors and other officials of these universities. Samajwadi Party's Ramji Lal Suman and RJD's Ram Kripal Yadav welcomed the government's move, but stressed that the seat capacity in higher education should be substantially augmented. BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab said there is a need to provide more autonomy to the central universities for ensuring quality education.
A bill to set up 12 Central universities in as many states and converting some existing ones to the same status was passed by Lok Sabha tonight.
The Central Universities Bill, 2009, which was passed by a voice vote, aimed at creating one new Central university each in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
It also seeks to convert Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya in Chhattisgarh, Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya in Madhya Pradesh and Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna University in Uttarakhand into Central universities. Replying to a debate on the bill, Minister of State for HRD D Purandeshwari said the aim of spending six per cent of GDP on education has to be shared by the Centre and the state governments and urged states not to reduce their share of expenditure in this regard.
In order to address regional imbalances in higher educational facilities in states, some of which were lagging behind, 16 states were identified for setting up of Central universities, she said. She also promised to take action in case educational institutions were charging hefty capitation fees, asserting that education should be accessible both in terms of facilities and the fees charged.
The Centre was working on a scheme to provide educational loans to needy students to pursue higher studies, the Minister said, adding that 304 educationally-backward blocks had been identified to establish educational institutions. Earlier during the debate, members sought more allocation on education to make it affordable and wanted the government to take stringent action against private institutions charging capitation fees. They also sought more autonomy for educational institutions.
Replying to objections raised by CPI(M)'s Varkala Radhakrishnan and BJP's Rassa Singh Rawat on the government issuing an ordinance on January 15, just weeks before the session, Purandeshwari said this was done as there was an urgency to implement the measure well before the next academic session and the House was not in session.
She said it was done to expedite the process of appointing Vice Chancellors and other officials of these universities. Samajwadi Party's Ramji Lal Suman and RJD's Ram Kripal Yadav welcomed the government's move, but stressed that the seat capacity in higher education should be substantially augmented. BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab said there is a need to provide more autonomy to the central universities for ensuring quality education.
