Maharashtra's plan to bring private universities under FRA sparks political debate

Mumbai: Maharashtra's proposal to bring self-financed private universities and autonomous colleges under Fee Regulatory Authority (FRA) has triggered a debate, with ministers and political leaders expressing divergent views.

The FRA regulates fees charged by private unaided professional educational institutions, including those offering medical, engineering, pharmacy and management courses.

The proposal was shared by Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, who told a regional news channel that the government was examining the fee structures, financial balances, land allotments and other details of self-financed universities. These institutions would be required to submit affidavits disclosing information about their functioning, he said.


Patil questioned whether such universities were currently covered under FRA and how they had acquired land for their campuses, citing examples of educational institutions in Kolhapur and Pune.

The minister also referred to allegations against him over Congress leader and MLC Satej Patil's family-controlled educational institutions and said those living in glass houses should not throw stones at others.

The minister further claimed that representatives of private educational institutions, as well as Satej Patil, had approached Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis when the government was considering bringing them under FRA, arguing that fee restrictions would make it difficult for them to run their institutions.

The minister said the institutions had subsequently agreed to provide education to 10 per cent economically-weaker students at half the regular fees, but the arrangement had not materialised.

The government intended to bring the legislation again in March, under which all such institutions would have to get their fees approved by FRA, the minister said.

OBC leader Babanrao Taywade welcomed the possibility of changes in the existing fee-regulation mechanism, saying the proposal did not represent anything fundamentally new. Giving the responsibility of deciding fees to FRA will not have much impact on educational institutions, he added.

He said the committees currently involved in deciding fees at the state-level FRA were also represented in higher-level committees constituted for deemed universities, autonomous colleges and private universities.

Former state education minister and NCP leader Kamal Kishor Kadam, however, questioned the state government's jurisdiction over institutions governed by the Centre.

"How can the state government make a law for institutions that come under the jurisdiction of the Centre?" he asked. He added that educational institutions established by leaders such as Vasantdada Patil and Yashwantrao Chavan had played a significant role in making Maharashtra one of the leading states in the education sector.

Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil also struck a cautious note, saying the government should not rush to decide on the FRA-related proposal and must hold discussions with private educational institutions.

He questioned the need to bring additional institutions under fee regulation when the state government already had powers over colleges affiliated with universities under its control.

The objective of fee regulation should be to prevent student exploitation and ensure they can access education without unreasonable financial burden, he said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Rahul Patil from Parbhani urged the government to maintain a positive approach towards private educational institutions, saying they had mad significant contribution to nation-building and spread of education.

The government should support them rather than view them with suspicion, and must not use FRA as a political weapon against educational institutions, he said.

Senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar, meanwhile, launched a sharp attack on Chandrakant Patil, accusing the government of resorting to intimidation and questioning the timing of the proposed fee-regulation measures.

Referring to the recent Gokul dairy election in Kolhapur, where the BJP-led side suffered a setback, Wadettiwar asked whether the government had remembered the need for stricter regulation only after its defeat in the cooperative institution's election.

He alleged that the government was using threats against institutions and people who had challenged its political interests.

"No one is born wearing the crown of power, and no one dies wearing it," Wadettiwar warned.

The issue was raised in the assembly on March 11 by Shiv Sena MLA Mahesh Shinde, who alleged FRA was colluding with private educational institutions to approve inflated fee proposals.

Such practices had financial implications for the state government, which reimburses fees of students from backward classes and economically weaker sections, including girl students, he added.

In response, the government constituted a committee under retired Bombay High Court judge Kalidas Vahane on July 7. Its tenure was originally fixed till October 6. The state government has now extended its tenure by two months.

The committee is examining complaints of alleged corruption, irregularities in fee fixation and favouritism towards private educational institutions.

The controversy intensified after FRA approved fee increases for 1,272 unaided professional colleges for 2026-27 academic year. The approvals raised questions about compliance with the amended fee-regulation law and the financial burden on students and parents.