New Delhi: A bill, which seeks to give IIITs administrative autonomy and enables setting up of 20 more such insititutes, was approved by the government on Friday.
The Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Bill, 2012 is set to be introduced during the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, official sources said. Once enacted, the legislation, cleared by the Union Cabinet, will confer the status of institutes of national importance on IIITs.
The establishment of each IIIT is expected cost Rs 128 crore, with the Centre bearing 50 per cent of the cost and the state government concerned 35 per cent.
The remaining 15 per cent will be borne by industry partners. The Cabinet is understood to have allowed PSUs to become partners in establishment of IIITs. At present, there are four IIITs funded by the central government.
These are at Gwalior, Allahabad, Jabalpur and Kancheepuram and are currently categorised as deemed universities. The plan is to establish one IIIT in every state, the sources said. The Cabinet also approved additional official amendments to The Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Higher Educational Institutions, Technical Educational Institutions, Medical Educational Institutions and Universities Bill, 2010 for introduction in the Parliament.
These amendments include mandatory disclosure of adherence to reservation provisions in public-funded institutions and to put in place a policy framework in case of private unaided institutions to address equity concerns in the prospectus, said sources in the HRD Ministry.
The amendments will ensure protection of the interests of students, especially those belonging to socially and educationally disadvantaged background against the adoption of unfair practices by some institutions, the sources said.
The Cabinet had earlier passed the official amendment to the Bill following the recommendations of a standing committee of Parliament. Approval of further amendments in the Bill had become necessary after the Ministry held discussions with a forum of SC/ST Parliamentarians who had sought protection of the interests of the students from socially and educationally disadvantaged categories. Significantly, the Bill has also been de-linked from the Educational Tribunals Bill, 2010. This step has been taken in view of the inordinate delay in passage of the Tribunal Bill. Adjudication of penalties will be restored to civil courts following the move, the sources said. (PTI)
