Bill won't seek quotas in private varsities

Hyderabad: The state government will not be insisting on reservation in private universities when it presents the Bill in the ongoing Winter Session of the Legislature.

Though some sections had advocated reservations for socially backward classes on the lines of state universities, the government had decided not to push for it.

A Cabinet sub-committee comprising ministers Kadiam Srihari and K.T. Rama Rao recently collected views of senior officers and legal advisers on the matter. Another round of meetings is slated for December 20, after which the committee will finalise the report and submit it to the government.

“Reputed institutions will shy away from foraying into the state if any riders are put. Private players, who invest huge money, do not expect of the government to interfere in their functioning. Most of the states that have private varsities do not have quotas,” an officer said.

Prof. N. Sivaprasad, pro Vice-Chancellor of GITAM University, a deemed university, said there were no provisions to implement reservation in private universities. The UGC states that five per cent marks concession should be given to students belonging to SC and ST communities in admissions, he said. There would be no concession in fees.

Officials said that if the government insisted on reservations, the private universities may ask for fee reimbursement, which would burden the government.

Demands for reservations cropped up when the Indian School of Business came to Hyderabad in early 2000, but the then government did not heed them.

Asked about this, rights activist Prof. G. Haragopal said he was opposed to the entry of private universities. If no conditions were laid down to encourage locals, the new university would comprise only students from other states, he said.

“Unlike elsewhere, the social demographic trend in Telangana state is completely different. Here the population consists of 52 per cent BCs, 16 per cent SCs, 8 to 7 per cent STs and 8 to 10 per cent Muslims ad other Caste communities are less than 15 per cent,” he said.