BENGALURU: Universities across the state will soon come under one Act. The Department of Higher Education is framing a common Act to bring them under one umbrella.
Though the Karnataka State Universities Act, 2000 is in force now, technical and medical universities do not come under its purview. But the proposed Act will cover all the universities in the state.
Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayareddi said, “As the Acts and statutes are different for different universities, coordination among all universities has become a major issue. Considering this, we have decided to bring all universities under one umbrella.”
The department has constituted a committee headed by former vice-chancellor of Bangalore University Dr N R Shetty. “We are waiting for the committee to submit its report. Once the report is ready, we will place it before the legislative assembly and council and implement the common universities Act,” added Rayareddi.
In the existing system, selection of vice-chancellors, appointment of syndicate and academic council members are different in each university. In case of universities like VTU and RGUHS, the criterion for selection of members and vice-chancellors is different compared to conventional universities. The new Act aims to having a common selection and appointment criterion for all.
Some Acts give more power to the Chancellor while some give more powers to the government. These discrepancies are expected to be rectified.