Private Universities Ordinance Draft Cleared by Yogi; Pledges ‘No Anti-national Activity, 50% Fee Concession to Poor’

Universities have to 'preserve the secular, democratic fabric and aspire for universal brotherhood and tolerance’, the new provisions of the ordinance states.

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has cleared a draft of the new ordinance called ‘Uttar Pradesh Private Universities Ordinance, 2019’. As per the draft, existing private universities in the state will submit an undertaking that their campuses will not be allowed to breed “anti-national activities in any way”.

The draft also mandates that universities will admit students from poor communities on a 50 per cent fee while ensuring that 75 per cent of the faculty is taken as permanent employees. If this structure is not followed then the state’s higher education council will be in a position to take action.

Universities have to ‘preserve the secular, democratic fabric and aspire for universal brotherhood and tolerance’, the new provisions of the ordinance states. This common law would be followed by all private universities in the state, including the 27 existing ones, according to the new ordinance.

The aim to bring about the common law is to “remove anomalies” in the functioning of private universities in Uttar Pradesh.

According to the new provisions laid down by the new ordinance, private universities will follow the academic calendar as established by various controlling bodies, News18 said in a report.