NMIMS, Symbiosis univ to come under state’s control?

MUMBAI: The state government is likely to bring all unaided deemed universities in Maharashtra under its control, with an amendment in the admission and fee regulation Act.
TOI had earlier reported that the government was contemplating only to bring deemed medical and dental institutes under the purview of the Act. However, the inclusion of the word deemed in the Maharashtra Private and Unaided Professional Institutions (Regulation of Admissions and Fees) Act 2015, will mean reputed universities, such as Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) in Mumbai and Symbiosis University in Pune, will also be brought under the state’s control, threatening the autonomy of such institutes.
In a meeting held on Friday with the directors of all competent authorities—including directorate of medical education and research, directorate of technical education, state’s common entrance test cell—authorities discussed the amendments that can be brought about in the Act based on the experiences during this year’s admissions.
“If the word deemed is included in the Act, all universities that are defined as deemed under Section 3 of the UGC Act will be governed by the state. Since the Act is aimed at regulating fees and admissions only in private and unaided professional institutions, it will not include Central universities that receive aid from the government, such as TISS and TIFR,” said an official. He added that the Supreme Court’s recent order allowing the government to conduct admissions in deemed medical and dental institutes gave a boost to the state’s proposition.
An official from of one of the universities that runs management and engineering institutes said they are governed by the UGC Act. “The state cannot seek to control our institutes unless there is a change in the UGC Act. If it does so, we will be within our rights to challenge the legislation. Regularizing admissions in medical and dental institutes is a different issue as there are rampant malpractices in their processes,” added the official.
Medical institutes are anyway considering moving court once the amendment is brought in. DY Patil, Bharati Vidyapeeth, Pravara, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences are a few of the universities that are likely to come under the state government’s control.