Foreign University Bill will be reworked : Teachers' body

New Delhi,July 14 (UNI) A day after meeting with officials of Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, All India Federation of University and College Teachers' Organisations (AIFUCTO) today said the proposed Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operation, Maintenance of Quality and Prevention of Commercialisation) Bill will not be introduced in the Monsoon session of Parliament.

A four-member delegation of AIFUCTO led by General Secretary V K Tewari held an hour-long meeting with HRD officials here yesterday to discuss their demands, including withdrawal of the Foreign University Bill.

The teachers' body also urged the Ministry not to accept conditionalities envisaged under general agreement on trade in services (GATS) and demanded any condition accepted so far should be rescinded by the HRD ministry and University Grants Commission (UGC).

Dr Tewari told UNI that a top official of the HRD ministry disclosed that the Foreign University Bill will not be introduced in the coming Monsoon session of Parliament.

Left parties, too, have been opposing the Bill and CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, among others, reportedly met HRD Minister Arjun Singh on July 12 to record the Left's opposition to the proposed bill, saying it did not fit in principles of equity, access, relevance and excellence.

The HRD officials also disclosed that a Bill in respect of private universities that was never legislated into an act had also been repealed, Dr Tewari said.

The Federation, Dr Tewari said, also held detailed discussion on liberal grant of deemed university status to educational instituions in the country. Expressing concern over it, he revealed that the number of institutions enjoying deemed university status, which was just 30 in 2002-03, has jumped to 112 now. AIFUCTO demanded a curb on degree-granting status to institutions, claiming it has led to lowering of standards in education.

Meanwhile, the Ministry informed AIFUCTO that the case relating to their demand for constitution of UGC pay revision committee has been processed by the HRD ministry and is ready for reference to the Union Finance Ministry.

UNI