BENGALURU: The state government is trying to get more control over private universities by proposing amendments to the Private Universities Act. There are over 10 private universities in the state and each is governed by an individual Act due to which the state government does not have any control on them in both academic and administrative matters.
The Higher Education Department has decided to bring in amendments to wrest some control. For this purpose, the Karnataka State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) has constituted an expert committee headed by Prof B S Sonde, a former Vice-Chancellor. Former Vice-Chancellors like Prof Kaveriyappa and Prof Ramegowda are its members.
“We even have representatives from private universities in the committee. We are taking the opinion of private universities before finalising the amendments,” said a KSHEC official.
As per information available, the amendments are aimed at getting control over enhancement of seats and starting new programmes/courses. “With the existing act, private universities do not have to get permission from government to enhance seats or to start a new programme. With the amendment, we are making it mandatory for them to get approval from the state government,” said an official.