BANGALORE: The Education Promotion Society of India (EPSI), an autonomous body comprising educationists from private sector, has decided to intensify its agitation against a few educational bills pending in Parliament.
Dr G Viswanathan, founder-chancellor of Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) University and President of EPSI, termed these bills as “draconian” in nature.
The bills in question are, The Educational Tribunal Bill 2010, The National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill 2010 and The Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Higher Educational Institutions Bill 2010.
“These bills affect the functioning of higher education in the country, as they intervene in the autonomy of educational institutions. It is perhaps for the first time that the government seeks to move these bills without consulting members of the private sector. We will approach the government about these concerns,” said Dr Viswanathan.
“The clauses violate the constitutional provisions. We appeal the government to reconsider these bills in their current form. We want the government to talk to the stakeholders before embarking on bringing about reforms,” he added.
The EPSI wants industrial bodies such as FICCI and NASSCOM to be part of accreditation processes.
The EPSI will focus on liberalising educational loans to students. “The current rate of interest is 11 to 13 per cent. We want this to be reduced to 5 per cent, while the repayment period should be extended to 20-25 years. By making loans easily accessible, we can hope to achieve 30 per cent gross enrolment ratio (GER),” said Dr H Chaturvedi, President of EPSI. On July 28, the EPSI will hold a one-day convention to discuss about higher education, he said.