The BJP government passed the Azim Premji University Bill 2010 in the legislative assembly on Friday, despite opposition parties’ uproar, followed by a boycott of the session, in protest against the nod for the formation of the first private university in the state.
After a nearly three-hour debate, opposition parties demanded that the state government set up a joint legislature committee to look into the various aspects of the bill. However, the government rejected the demand. This angered the opposition members, who jumped into the well of the house in protest.
A verbal duel ensued between the government and the opposition. Leaders of the opposition parties shouted slogans against the BJP and said the bill was unconstitutional, anti-democratic, and anti-social.
In the midst of this melee, speaker KG Bopaiah announced that the bill was passed by voice vote.
The government also passed the Alliance University Bill 2010, which also envisaged “establishing a private varsity of global standards”. This further enraged opposition members, mainly from the Congress and JD(S), who refused to accept that the bills were passed. Leader of the opposition in the legislative assembly Siddaramaiah said that they would boycott the assembly proceedings in the coming days, and continue to voice their protests on the floor of the house.
After the house was adjourned, Siddaramaiah told mediapersons that the state government was trying to privatise higher education. “Capitation fee has been banned, but the bill has made provisions to collect such a fee. Guidelines have also not been followed. Section 14 of the bill states that the chairperson of the sponsoring body will be the first chancellor, and that he will hold the office for life. This would turn the university into a family property,” he said.
Siddaramaiah said that his party would oppose the present format of the bill. “If the government is really serious about raising the standards of higher education, then it should introduce a comprehensive bill for private universities, or set up a joint house committee to assess the bill thoroughly. It has not accepted our demand and passed the bill in a hurry. This proves that they are in collusion with the capitalists,” he said.
Earlier in the day, after the question hour, higher education minister Aravind Limbavali submitted the bill for discussion in the assembly. Immediately, Siddaramaiah raised objections to it stating that the bill was not in accordance with the guidelines of the University Grants Commission (UGC), as middle and lower middle class students would not be able to afford education in private universities. He said that the state government would also not have any control over such varsities.
Former higher education minister G Parameshwar supported Siddaramaiah and said that passing the bill would be equal to opening the floodgate. “Everybody will apply to establish a private university. The Azim Premji Foundation has no experience in the field of education. Also, several experiments to set up private universities in the country have failed,” he said.
Parameshwar said the bill permitted the varsity to collect a donation, which was against the Supreme Court’s directions. “We feel there is a profit motive hidden here,” Parameshwar said. JD(S) leader HD Revanna, Congress leader TB Jayachandra and other opposition members agreed with him.
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