The Hindu Business Line : Panel to examine foreign varsity entry

IN a clear indication of the Government moving towards permitting foreign universities to set up their establishments in India, the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Mr Arjun Singh, on Tuesday announced the setting up of a high level committee under the Chairmanship of the eminent scientist, Dr C. N. R. Rao. The Committee consisting of six members, including Dr Rao, has been asked to submit its recommendations by April 15. The decision comes in the wake of India having to take a decision on General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) sooner.

Apart from Dr Rao, the member committee will consist of Mr Bakul Dholakia, Director, IIM Ahmedabad, Mr H. P. Dikshit, Vice-Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Mr C. P. Chandrasekhr of Jawaharlal, Nehru University, Delhi, Mr Ashok Misra, Director of IIT, Mumbai and Mr Mulchand Sharma, Director, National School of Law University, Bhopal.

The Government will await the committee's recommendation and discuss the draft proposal before moving towards a Central legislation. Addressing a press meet here at the end of the two-day Conference of State Ministers of Higher and Technical Education, Mr Singh said that based on the consensus arrived at during the conference, a draft Central legislation would be framed by Parliament to regulate the admission procedures to the professional courses in the States. Though he did not specify any time frame, Mr Singh however ruled out an Ordinance to tackle the contentious issue during the next academic session in May.

"I would prefer not to go through the Ordinance route. Parliament has to be kept informed about the issue," he said, adding that he hoped a draft Bill could be prepared before the academic session after consultation with all the States. However, on the setting up of private universities, no consensus was reached and while some States welcome it, others felt "we have already gone overboard."

Later, the education ministers of BJP-ruled States told reporters that though they welcomed the proposal to permit foreign universities, they had spelt out their conditions for supporting it.

Mr Ghanshyam Tiwari, Rajasthan, who briefed reporters on behalf of the BJP-ruled States — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Goa — said that the Government should allow foreign universities only on a 50:50 partnership with local institutions. Besides, the foreign investors should be permitted to retain only 20 per cent of the profits, while the remaining portion should be reinvested within the country. No repatriation of the capital should be allowed. Mr Tiwari added that such universities should be bound by the Indian regulatory bodies in education like the University Grants Commission and the All India Council of Technical Education.

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