The government has laid down a structured framework to regulate private universities, ensuring accountability and maintaining access for Kerala students.
Published Feb 11, 2025 | 7:47 AM ⚊ Updated Feb 11, 2025 | 8:25 AM
Kerala University. (Creative Commons)
Synopsis: The Kerala Cabinet has approved a bill that allows the establishment of private universities in the state. The government has laid down a structured framework to regulate private universities, ensuring accountability and maintaining access for Kerala students. At the same time, the special Cabinet meeting also approved key amendments to the university laws.
In a dramatic shift in political stance, the CPI(M) led the LDF government in Kerala, which once fiercely opposed private universities, and has now approved a bill to establish them in the state.
The draft of the Kerala State Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Bill, 2025, cleared in a special cabinet meeting on Monday, 10 February, marks a stark departure from the CPI(M)’s long-standing stance against privatisation in education.
The move comes nearly a decade after the CPI(M) and its student wing, the Students Federation of India (SFI), forcefully resisted private and foreign universities, even leading to an infamous physical attack on former Higher Education Council Vice-Chairman TP Sreenivasan during a 2016 conclave.
With the bill paving the way for regulated private institutions, the government claims it is balancing quality education with accessibility and oversight. However, critics see it as an ideological U-turn.
The CPI(M) and the SFI, had strongly opposed the idea of private and foreign universities in Kerala.
In 2016, SFI activists manhandled Sreenivasan during a conclave organised by the then UDF government in Kovalam in the Thiruvananthapuram district, which aimed to promote collaboration with private and foreign institutions.
At the time, the Left had argued that privatisation would lead to the commercialisation of education.
However, the CPI(M)’s 2022 state conference reportedly endorsed a shift in this policy, signalling a more open approach toward private players in education.
The Shyam B Menon-chaired Higher Education Reform Commission later recommended allowing private universities, a suggestion that is now being implemented in this bill. The State Budget 2024 also endorsed the entry of private players.
The bill was initially scheduled for discussion in the Cabinet on 5 February but the CPI — an LDF ally — reportedly sought more deliberations.
Higher Education Minister R Bindu was absent from that meeting, and CPI Ministers K Rajan and P Prasad were said to have expressed concerns about its impact on public universities, arguing that Kerala’s state universities were working to improve academic standards and attract foreign students.
However, with the draft bill now cleared, the government has laid down a structured framework to regulate private universities, ensuring accountability and maintaining access for Kerala students.
The bill establishes strict conditions for setting up private universities in the state.
Eligibility Criteria: Only institutions with experience and credibility in education can apply.
Land Requirement: Universities must have land as prescribed by regulatory bodies, and multi-campus universities must have a headquarters spanning at least 10 acres.
Financial Security: A corpus fund of ₹25 crore must be deposited in the treasury.
Regulatory Oversight: Private universities must adhere to the University Grants Commission (UGC) and state government guidelines on faculty appointments and administration.
Reservation & Inclusion: 40 percent of seats in each course will be reserved for permanent residents of Kerala and the existing reservation policies for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) students and fee concessions will be maintained.
The bill also mandates that sponsoring agencies submit a detailed project report with funding sources and land details.
A government-appointed expert committee, consisting of an eminent academician, a vice-chancellor, the higher education department secretary, and other officials, will then evaluate proposals. The committee must submit its decision within two months, after which the government will approve or reject the proposal.
Unlike public universities, private institutions will not be given government funding but can seek research grants.
However, to ensure accountability:
The higher education department secretary and another state-appointed departmental secretary will be part of the university’s governing council.
The state government will nominate members to the executive and academic councils.
Employees’ rights, including Provident Fund (PF) benefits, are needed to be ensured.
Grievance redressal mechanisms will be mandatory to protect the rights of teachers, staff, and students.
The bill’s approval signals a paradigm shift in Kerala’s higher education sector, potentially attracting reputed private universities and foreign institutions, as hinted in the 2024 State Budget.
However, critics argue that the move could weaken state universities, increase commercialisation, and affect affordability.
As the bill moves to the Assembly, after the consideration of the Law Department, all eyes will be on how Kerala navigates this delicate balance between educational progress and equitable access.
At the same time, the special Cabinet meeting also approved key amendments to the University Laws (Amendment) (No.1) Bill, 2025, and the University Laws (Amendment) (No.2) Bill, 2025, introducing significant changes to the functioning of universities in the state.
A major highlight of the amendment is the removal of the provision that allows universities to establish study centres outside Kerala and even outside India.
Additionally, the amendment seeks to address concerns regarding the reconstitution of various statutory bodies within universities, such as the Syndicate, Senate, Academic Council, Faculty, and Board of Studies.
To ensure a smooth transition, a special provision will be included in the amendment bills. This provision states that the Syndicate and the Senate Executive Committee constituted under the existing University Acts before the commencement of the amended law will continue to function until new bodies are formed or until the completion of their current term, whichever comes first.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
