HRD Ministry considering revival of 3 bills on higher education

New Delhi: The HRD Ministry is actively considering revival of three crucial bills on higher education including one which seeks to allow foreign universities set up campuses in India.

These legislations had lapsed with the end of the 15th Lok Sabha. Officials in the Ministry said the bills are being studied in details for any changes. The broader contours, however, would remain the same, they said. HRD Minister Smriti Irani is understood to have held some discussions with stakeholders about these legislations for their possible introduction during the next session of Parliament in July. The Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010 along with two other bills which are being revived were introduced during the time of former HRD Minister Kapil Sibal. The other two are the Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical Educational Institutions, Medical Educational Institutions and University Bill, 2010 and The National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, 2010. The Foreign Education Providers Bill faced stiff resistance from the Opposition parties despite efforts by Sibal to evolve a consensus. A Parliamentary panel which studied the bill had also sought several amendments. While the UPA government went slow with the bill, Sibal`s successor M M Pallam Raju reached out to the Opposition to push through with the other two bills. But the repeated adjournment of Parliament stalled their passage along with a host of other legislations. The government is also considering bringing amendments to the UGC Act to give more teeth to the body governing higher education in the country. The BJP manifesto spoke about restructuring the commission.