February 22, 2014
West Bengal gets two new private universities
The West Bengal State Legislative Assembly has passed two private university bills on two consecutive days: the Seacom Skills University Bill, 2013, on Friday and the Adamas University Bill, 2014, on Thursday.
Seacom Skills University will be set up by the Seacom Marine College Trust and Adamas University by the Sachis Kiron Roy Memorial Trust, which is associated with the Roy`s Institutions of Competitive Examinations, better known as the Rice Group.
“The demand for higher education is increasing every year as there has been more than 100 per cent increase in the number of successful candidates in the Higher Secondary exams since 2006. We need more colleges and universities to overcome the shortage of seats. Since the government funding is not enough to set up the required number of institutions, there is a need to set up more private universities,” Higher Education Minister Bratya Basu said in the Assembly during the debate on the Adamas University Bill on Friday.
The gazette notifications for the two universities are likely to be issued in three months. Before starting the courses, the universities will have to obtain UGC approval. Officials of both institutions said the universities could start functioning in the upcoming academic session.
The Techno India University was the first private university set up under state legislation, passed in 2012.
Adamas University will be set up in Barasat, while the Seacom Skills University will come up at Kendradangal in Birbhum, near Santiniketan. The visitor of the universities will be the governor, who will have the power to ask for any paper or information related to the functioning of the institutions and take appropriate action. The governing councils of the universities will have three persons nominated by the state government.
