The Hindu Business Line : Profit goals vs. public purpose

IN CONFERRING `UNIVERSITY' status to more than 100 establishments, the Chhattisgarh Government was guilty of a cynical perversion of the loftier principle of private-public partnership in higher education. Quite expectedly, therefore, the Supreme Court has quashed the notifications conferring such a status on these institutions. But in doing so, the Court has relied on what can be described as only a technical infirmity in the process adopted in the constitution of the new private universities. It has faulted the State Government for resorting to notifications under an omnibus law on private universities as opposed to specific legislation for each such university. The Court perhaps reckons that the mere logistics of securing legislative passage in each and every case would act as a brake on the mushrooming of such institutions. It may well be right though if the perfunctory manner in which some of the Bills are debated and passed into law by the State legislatures is anything to go by, even this may prove no great hindrance to the proliferation of private universities as seen in Chhattisgarh.

But that apart, the danger in such an approach is that while restricting the overall number of private players there is no guarantee that only those genuinely interested in the cause of higher education would remain in the fray. They could well be edged out by smooth operators who are sure to exert considerable political influence on such decisions. The issue is really not one of merits of subordinate versus specific legislation. Delegation of legislative authority to the Executive is an accepted principle of public administration. In fact, excise and Customs duty rates are invariably set through Executive fiats. If the indirect tax administration at the Centre can be sustained through Executive action, why not the legislative intentions on higher education? Incidentally, in the latest case, the University Grants Commission Regulations, by which the Supreme Court sets much store in ensuring academic standards, are an example of legislative power delegated to an Executive arm. If the UGC can enforce standards of academic performance, there is no reason why a functionary at the State level cannot establish whether a particular institution is deserving of grant of `university' status instead of the Legislature having to pass a law each time.

The key, of course, is in laying down objective criteria and their sincere enforcement. Unfortunately politicians are themselves not above sensing an opportunity for discretionary exercise of power for private profit. The result invariably is a grotesque distortion of public policy in securing private participation of the kind witnessed in the Chhattisgarh case. Considering the resource constraints on the public sector, private investment in higher education is a concept whose time has come. It is also inevitable that such investments will be driven by profit considerations however much the investor may clothe it under a larger public purpose. Needed are innovative ideas that strike the right balance between private goals of profit and public purpose.

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