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State Government of Maharashtra has decided not to grant approval to any new Universities until the new policy guidelines are formed. This year only six private varsities have so far obtained the government’s nod. Fadnavis-led Maharashtra cabinet has decided to put on hold all other proposals to set up private universities in the state.
Source from the government says that 19 more proposals for self-financed private universities were under various stages of consideration. The official also said that the idea behind allowing self-financed universities was mainly to offer specialised courses that are not offered in state-funded universities.
“There is a need to squeeze the norms to encourage setting up of such campuses in backward regions where there is a dearth of such facilities,” said the minister.
An expert committee comprising senior bureaucrats and educationists would be constituted to revamp the policy.
Another problem that have been facing is the land and infrastructure requirement for such institutes. While the government’s norms require a contiguous land parcel of a minimum requirement for setting up such campuses, sources said that the government had also received proposals from some education groups seeking consideration of land and infrastructure available with them at multiple campuses they already operate to meet these norms.
For now, though, the state has opted not to grant approvals to such proposals. “The original idea was to promote greenfield educational campuses,” a minister said
On July 23, the Maharashtra cabinet gave a go-ahead to two private universities – the Sandip Institute of Technology and Research Centre (Nashik), and a university in Pune by the Maharashtra Institute of Technology.
