Delhi government puts forward a bill reserving 25% seat quota for local students

The Delhi government has announced the allocation of 25% of all the available seats in various programs in private universities to students from Delhi as per the proposed Delhi Private University Bill which will introduce a regulatory mechanism for the private universities to operate in the national capital.

The proposal was approved by the cabinet on Friday and is poised to become the legal provision which would enable the opening and functioning of the private universities in the capital.

As per sources, the proposal suggests that the seat reservations will also be followed by the quota policy already extended by the Delhi government.


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It also provides for the arrangement of merit-based scholarships to 25% of the candidates from Delhi. Out of this, 5% will receive full fee exemption and the remaining will enjoy 25% fee reduction.

Education minister Ashish Sood said, “We have cleared the way for private universities to be established in Delhi by approving the Bill.”

The draft allows Delhi to set up private universities under a government notification. The universities must, however, adhere to University Grants Commission (UGC) and other designated authorities.

Delhi's new universities will operate on the unitary system therefore they cannot affiliate other colleges and will operate solely in their own campuses. The faculty members and the academic staff have to be appointed strictly in accordance with UGC norms.

As per the draft Bill, there is a provision for considerable supervision by the government over the private universities. It has been proposed in the draft that the higher education minister would act as the visitor of all the private universities and would have the right to seek information, order investigations and give instructions. Administrative, academic or financial inquiries can be carried out as and when required.

The board for private universities will have representatives from the government. All board of management will have secretary from the department of higher education or department of training and technical education (DTTE) or an officer nominated by the authority. Without government representation, the approval for the decision in governance matters cannot be obtained.

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The system also consists of authorized roles like chancellor, vice-chancellor, registrar, finance controller, and examination controller apart from departments such as the academic council and board of management when it comes to making academic and non-academic decisions. The departments which reviewed the draft have recommended a strong regulation mechanism for controlling temporary institutions and compliance with the regulations of the different watchdogs including the UGC, AICTE, NMC, BCI, NCTE, PCI, and ICAR improved.

Currently private educational organizations (self-financing) in Delhi mostly function as schools affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. The new law would give the permitted institutions a simple breakdown to become universities legally. Another type of institution is deemed university, which includes TERI School of Advanced Studies, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), and Jamia Hamdard. Delhi has 11 regarded institutions as universities by UGC and total of 29 recognized universities and deemed universities.