Karmalkar to lead panel to propose amendments to Universities Act

The state government has appointed professor Nitin Karmalkar, former vice-chancellor of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), to lead the nine-member committee to give recommendations related to amendment to the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016. The committee has been given a deadline of 3 months to submit report.

A government resolution to this effect was recently issued by the higher and technical education department. The panel includes DT Shirke (vice-chancellor, Shivaji University), Ujwala Chakradev (vice-chancellor, SNDT Women’s University), Rajneesh Kamat (vice-chancellor, Homi Bhabha State University), RS Mali (former vice-chancellor), Parveen Sayyed (senior legal officer, SPPU), Dilip Bharad (registrar, Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University), as well as directors of technical and higher education.

The committee’s mandate includes reviewing provisions of the existing University Act, ensuring compatibility with National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and incorporating best practices from national and international frameworks. The government resolution states that all administrative and financial responsibilities for the committee’s functioning will be borne by SPPU.