Gujarat clears bill unifying 11 varsity acts to align with NEP

The Gujarat assembly on Saturday passed the Gujarat Public Universities Bill to align with the 2020 National Education Policy (NEP) and make it easier to manage the 11 universities in the state.

The passage of the draft legislation signified the repeal of 11 separate laws governing these universities, unifying them under common guidelines, according to education minister Rushikesh Patel. The bill, approved by a voice vote, will promote “smooth governance among these institutions by fostering better coordination, cooperation and efficient utilization of higher education resources,” he said.

These rules are meant to help the universities work together better, use their resources well and provide high-quality education to compete with other universities worldwide.

However, at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Shubhangini Raje Gaekwad, a member of the erstwhile royal family, will be in charge as chancellor. At 10 other universities, the Gujarat governor will serve as chancellor.

The new law changes how universities make decisions. Earlier, they had senates and syndicates. Now, they’ll have a board of management. The board will be the main group making decisions for a university and handling all its business. Board members will have a two-and-a-half-year term.

The law also limits how long a university’s leader, the vice-chancellor, can stay in the job to five years. If they’re good at it, they might get to be vice-chancellor at another university for five more years. The law says a vice-chancellor can lose her job if she is connected to a political party or organization. The government gets to decide if a group is “political” or not.

“The bill will be a milestone. It will fulfil all the requirement of a university for higher education in the 21st century,” Patel said at the assembly. It will improve the management of universities and remove discrepancies in the implementation of the guidelines of the University Grants Commission, he said.

Congress legislature party leader Amit Chavda, on the other hand, said the Bill was an attempt at “sarkarikaran” of education. He accused the government of encouraging privatisation, and said the Bill was an attack on the autonomy of public universities. “The Bill will end the academic and financial autonomy of 11 universities,” Chavda said.

All these universities have contributed to different fields and different regions, and the new law will take away their autonomy to introduce different courses, he said.