KOCHI: The UDF government’s proposed private universities legislation is likely to scrap the previous government’s plan to have government nominees on governing and academic councils and ease land and corpus fund requirements to attract private players to the state’s higher education sector.
The proposed legislation is still at the pre-draft stage, but a recent political-level discussion has broadly agreed on the key provisions to be included in the new bill, according to a senior higher education department official.
The government is also examining the private university legislation in the Congress-ruled Andhra Pradesh for possible pointers.
The UDF government has decided to withdraw the Kerala Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Bill, passed by the assembly on March 25, 2025, and pending presidential assent. The higher education department, through an order issued on September 17, had directed that bill brought in by the LDF government be withdrawn during the next assembly session to be convened on October 12.
Under the 2025 bill, those seeking to establish private universities are required to have a corpus fund of Rs 25 crore and around 10 acres of land. Sources said, while these stipulations may be relaxed, the Congress-led UDF government is expected to ensure that the new universities will not have a free run on the fees to be imposed on students.
A source privy to the discussions said the provision to have government representation in the governing and academic councils of private universities was among the major hurdles that derailed the previous bill. “This rule is not there even in the national private university bill. This and many other clauses were the reason why that bill was referred to the President,” the source said.
Govt to withdraw legislation through resolution
Another source in the higher education council said private universities were unlikely to accept a system in which the government had a say in their academic and administrative bodies. “Currently, in the state universities, except Kerala and Calicut universities, nearly all syndicate members are nominated by the government, with a few by the governor, who is the Chancellor. No private university will be comfortable with that,” the source added.
The LDF’s bill proposed that there should be three government representatives in a private university’s 12-member governing council, one in the executive council and three in the academic council.
“The proposed legislation will have to take into account the recent Supreme Court ruling in Ayesha Jain v Amity University, Noida & Ors., which held that private universities must serve a public educational purpose and cannot function as commercial profit-making entities,” said a source.
The government has decided to withdraw the legislation through a resolution under Rule 118 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the assembly, based on legal advice. The department has also been asked to consult stakeholders and prepare new legislation to establish private universities and higher education and research institutions in the state.
The 2025 bill was submitted to the governor on April 21 last year and was subsequently reserved for the President under Article 200 of the Constitution.