D. Purandeshwari: Foreign Education Providers (Regulation) Bill soon
D Purandeshwari
According to D. Purandeshwari, Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Central govt. would soon introduce the much-awaited Foreign Education Providers (Regulation) Bill in parliament aimed at enabling students have access to education provided by overseas universities.
“It is on the anvil. It has gone to the Law Ministry for vetting, after which it will be introduced”, she told reporters on the second day of the Editors’ Conference.
Through this bill, institutions adhering to AICTE norms would be allowed to have tie-ups with foreign institutions to avoid “fly by night” operators, she said.
Urging state governments to increase their education spend, Ms Purandeswari said the Government’s target was to utilise up to six per cent of the GDP in the education sector.
“Currently, 3.78 per cent of the country’s GDP is utilised for expenses in the education sector. Education is a cooperative responsibility of both the Government of India and states. We need to work together,” she said.
She said as many as 14 bills aimed at ushering in reforms in the education sector were pending as the Opposition had stalled proceedings in Parliament (over Lok Pal Bill).
The Minister said the Right to Education Act would be enforced from 2013. She said the HRD Ministry planned to come out with a “National Accreditation Bill” making it mandatory for all institutions to have quality infrastructure.
She said the time was ripe for India to have a relook at the education policy and to further strengthen programmes in the sector in the wake of globalisation.
