New Delhi, July 6
The central universities draft Bill has run into trouble, with the Union Law Ministry refusing to vet it in the present form.

After the Law Ministry recently returned the Bill to the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry with certain objections and observations, delay in the progress of the proposed 16 central universities has become inevitable.

This delay is not being taken kindly within the HRD Ministry, which, said informed sources, was keen to push the Bill through as early as possible.

The ministry, it is learnt, was hoping it would not have to wait for the Parliament session to send in the Bill, and would issue an ordinance instead. That, for the time being, looks difficult.

The issue has now been brought to the notice of HRD minister Arjun Singh, who is expected to discuss it with law minister H.R. Bhardwaj. “We are looking towards the HRD minister for direction. We have apprised him of the situation and requested him to resolve this issue at the political level. It is beyond us to convince the Law Ministry,” the sources in the HRD Ministry said, adding that objections raised to the “reformist” Bill were not legally sustainable.

“These issues will have to be brought to the notice of the law minister as our meetings with the additional secretary in the Law Ministry have not borne fruit. We are therefore seeking the HRD minister’s intervention to expedite the matter of central universities,” the HRD Ministry sources added.

That HRD Ministry is under pressure to push the matter is clear from the haste being shown by certain Chief Ministers in publicly committing to the commencement of academic session from this year. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi recently stated that the central university in the state would start operating from this year. Similar demands are surfacing from other states where central universities are proposed.

At such a politically sensitive time, when the general elections are due, the anxiety within the HRD Ministry with regard to vetting of the central universities draft Bill is understandable. The matter, the HRD Ministry sources said would have to be sorted out at a political level between the ministers concerned.

As for the Bill, it has a reform agenda in place. Some of the proposed reforms include - English as the compulsory medium of instruction, all-India admission test, semester system, continuous internal assessment, transfer of credit from one university to another and unitary character for universities to do away with affiliates.

The view within the HRD Ministry is that affiliates dilute the business of learning and disseminating knowledge as time is wasted in conducting exams and managing administrative issues for affiliated colleges.