Fadnavis govt's proposal to bring private universities, autonomous colleges in Maharashtra under FRA sparks row

Maharashtras proposal to bring selffinanced private universities and autonomous colleges under the Fee Regulatory Authority FRA has sparked a debate with ministers and political leaders expressing differing views on the moveThe FRA regulates fees charged by private unaided professional educational institutions including those offering medical engineering pharmacy and management coursesHigher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil outlined the proposal in an interview with a regional news channel saying the government was examining the fee structures financial balances land allotments and other details of selffinanced universities He said these institutions would be required to submit affidavits disclosing information about their functioning news agency PTI reportedPatil questioned whether such universities currently came under the FRAs purview and how they had acquired land for their campuses citing educational institutions in Kolhapur and Pune as examplesThe minister also referred to allegations against him concerning educational institutions controlled by the family of Congress Member of Legislative Council MLC Satej Patil saying those living in glass houses should not throw stones at othersHe further claimed that representatives of private educational institutions along with Satej Patil had approached Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis when the government was considering bringing them under the FRA They had argued that restrictions on fees would make it difficult for them to run their institutions said Chandrakant PatilFRA proposal draws mixed reactions from political leadersAccording to the minister the institutions subsequently agreed to provide education to 10 per cent of economically weaker students at half the regular fees However the arrangement did not materialiseThe government intends to reintroduce the legislation in March under which all such institutions would be required to obtain FRA approval for their fee structures the minister saidThe proposal has drawn mixed reactions from political leaders OBC leader Babanrao Taywade welcomed the possibility of changes to the existing feeregulation mechanism saying the move did not represent anything fundamentally newGiving the FRA the responsibility of deciding fees would not have much impact on educational institutions he saidTaywade added that the committees currently involved in deciding fees at the statelevel FRA were also represented in higherlevel committees constituted for deemed universities autonomous colleges and private universitiesFormer state education minister and NCP leader Kamal Kishor Kadam however questioned the state governments jurisdiction over institutions governed by the CentreLeaders question state powers urge caution over FRA proposalHow can the state government make a law for institutions that come under the jurisdiction of the Centre he askedKadam added that educational institutions established by leaders such as Vasantdada Patil and Yashwantrao Chavan had played a significant role in making Maharashtra one of the leading states in the education sectorWater Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil also cautioned against rushing into a decision on the FRArelated proposal saying the government must hold discussions with private educational institutionsHe questioned the need to bring additional institutions under fee regulation when the state government already had powers over colleges affiliated with universities under its controlThe objective of fee regulation should be to prevent the exploitation of students and ensure they can access education without facing an unreasonable financial burden he saidShiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray legislator Rahul Patil from Parbhani urged the government to adopt a positive approach towards private educational institutions saying they had made significant contributions to nationbuilding and the spread of educationWadettiwar accuses govt of using FRA as political weaponThe government should support these institutions rather than view them with suspicion and must not use the FRA as a political weapon against educational institutions he saidSenior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar meanwhile launched a sharp attack on Chandrakant Patil accusing the government of resorting to intimidation and questioning the timing of the proposed feeregulation measuresReferring to the recent Gokul dairy election in Kolhapur where the BJPled side suffered a setback Wadettiwar asked whether the government had recognised the need for stricter regulation only after its defeat in the cooperative institutions electionHe alleged that the government was using threats against institutions and people who had challenged its political interestsNo one is born wearing the crown of power and no one dies wearing it Wadettiwar warnedThe issue was raised in the Assembly on March 11 by Shiv Sena MLA Mahesh Shinde who alleged that the FRA was colluding with private educational institutions to approve inflated fee proposalsFRA panel probes alleged irregularities as fee hikes for 1272 colleges spark concernsSuch practices had financial implications for the state government which reimburses fees for students from backward classes and economically weaker sections including girl students he addedFollowing the allegations the government constituted a committee headed by retired Bombay High Court judge Kalidas Vahane on July 7 The committees tenure was initially fixed until October 6 but the state government has now extended it by two monthsThe committee is examining complaints of alleged corruption irregularities in fee fixation and favouritism towards private educational institutionsThe controversy intensified after the FRA approved fee hikes for 1272 unaided professional colleges for the 202627 academic year The approvals raised questions about compliance with the amended feeregulation law and the financial burden on students and parentsWith PTI inputs