Govt to amend Alliance University Act to take control

BENGALURU: The Karnataka government is planning to take the legislature route to take control of Alliance University, the State’s first private university where academics have come to a halt owing to a family feud.

The government has prepared an amendment to the Alliance University Act, 2010, which will be placed before the legislative assembly session scheduled to begin at Belagavi from November 21, Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayareddy said. “The law minister and I have had meetings on this. We are amending the private university’s act,” he told ET.

The amendment will insert a new section in the Act - power to enter and inspect - authorizing a Group-A level officer to exercise powers and discharge functions to ensure the smooth functioning of the university. “We’ve already issued a show-cause notice to the university asking the management to restore admissions and academics,” Rayareddy said.

The 6-year-old university's 7,000 students have been left in the lurch following suspension of academic activities for over a month amid a management battle between brothers Madhukar Angur and Sudhir Angur. Hundreds of students have been staging protests outside the university’s campus in Anekal, about 30 kms from Bengaluru, demanding resumption of classes. The students have taken to social media to launch a #SaveAlliance campaign, while floating a change.org petition that has garnered over 1,800 signatures.

Last week, a one-man inquiry commission instituted by the State government unearthed a Rs 96 crore scam at Alliance University.

“The problem is, there are some legal hurdles for us to takeover the university. The Act has to be amended, and there is a High Court order pertaining to the university that our legal team is studying. In 15 days, we should be in a position to take action,” the minister said.

The Karnataka Higher Education Council (KSHEC), the policy-making body that Rayareddy chairs, has already approved the amendment to the Alliance University Act. The government has also proposed amending Acts of all private universities in the State to empower the KSHEC to conduct periodical inspections.