Classrooms may soon be occupied after college hours too

NEW DELHI: Not willing to let financial constraints come in the way of rapidly increasing enrolment in universities and colleges, the Centre is considering a policy intervention to ensure optimum utilisation of public assets of educational institutions.

A senior government functionary said this policy framework could be in the form of a legislation for central education institutions, and guidelines for states to replicate the law for institutions under its purview. “We need a uniform system across the country for the use of public assets,” a senior official said.

HRD minister Kapil Sibal has consistently maintained the need for better utilisation of assets of universities and colleges. It is being argued that the most classrooms and other assets of institutions lie unutilised after classes are through for the day. It is suggested that these institutions, particularly central universities and constituent colleges, could allow other educational entities to use their premises for a fee. It is argued that this would allow for increasing access without investing large sums as it would utilise existing capacities.

With the government stressing on public-private partnerships, sources said private players could be allowed to use the available infrastructure for skill-development programmes. For this, the private providers would be charged a fee or rental. “This would be a private-public partnership that could be undertaken without major financial commitments. It would allow for private participation, at the same time provide universities with new sources of funding, which it could use to improve infrastructure,” a ministry official said. Funding constraints have been the bane of the higher education.

But the ministry recognises the need to ensure a comprehensive legal and policy framework for better use of public assets that would be uniformly applicable across the country. This would mean that guidelines setting out the manner in which public educational institutions can use their unutilised infrastructure will have to be set out so that there is no misuse or scope for corruption.