Raman govt cracks whip on pvt varsities

‘‘Can you imagine universities sanctioned within a day just for Rs 1,700 and allowed to operate from one or two-room rented space?’’ he said. The Minister charged the Congress government of commercialising education and said it acted in haste to sanction universities.

Chhattisgarh is perhaps the only state to have such a large number of private universities coming up between 2002 and 2003. The state government was recently issued notices by the Supreme Court, on a PIL by Bilaspur-based social activists, alleging serious violation of UGC norms.

Other conditions will include Rs 2 crore security, details about academic courses and approval from bodies like AICTE, MCI and UGC.

The Congress admitted that its government could not enforce norms on private universities but it opposed the law. The party charged that the BJP was trying to politicise the issue instead of clearing the mess. Former Education Minister Satya Narain Sharma claimed the Congress government had made a good decision to bring in private universities. He feels only those universities which can compete will stay and others will vanish. ‘‘But, why is there so much hue and cry on the opening of private universities?’’ he said.