Innovation universities can have foreign Vice Chancellors, says draft Bill

New Delhi The freedom to appoint a foreign academician as a Vice Chancellor, to invite a promising student to join as faculty, to allow universities to devise their own merit- based admission process freed from the hidebound UGC or any other regulatory bodies — these are among the radical new clauses in the proposed pathbreaking legislation, the Universities For Innovation Bill, 2010.

In the work for months now, the Bill, drafted by the HRD Ministry, will enable the setting up of 14 “Innovation Universities” of world-class standards in collaboration with global partners. Trying to balance autonomy with accountability, the Bill provides for setting up these universities with full public funding, private funding or public-private partnership.

The Bill’s highlights:

*Innovation Universities will be free to evolve their own admission criteria but ensure that at least 50 per cent of students admitted for any programme are Indian citizens.

*Open to “all persons” irrespective of disparities of gender or caste, the universities will be asked to devise their own version of affirmative action factoring in the socio-economic background of candidates.

*These varsities — many expected to come up with foreign collaboration — will be not-for-profit legal entities, each established after a Memorandum of Association is signed between the Central government and the private partner and the same MoA is ratified by Parliament.

*Each application for the MoA will be processed and rejected/accepted within six months. The varsity will be able to decide its fee structure but will have to disclose it on its website and will not be permitted to repatriate any surplus generated outside the university.

Incidentally, Yale University has been the first to propose a collaboration with India on Innovation Universities and it is learnt that several UK institutions, including the University of Cambridge, Imperial College, London, have expressed keen interest.

*The Board of Governors of each varsity will have one-third members drawn from teachers/officers of the varsity. The BoG will be free to invite “any person of high academic distinction and professional attainments to accept the post of Professor or Associate Professor” and also appoint by invitation “any graduating student with high academic distinction demonstrating exceptional talent for research as Assistant Professor”.

*Though these varsities will be beyond the purview of the Comptroller and Auditor General, the BoG will have to appoint an auditor(s) to scrutinize the varsity’s balance sheet.

*The Centre will provide each varsity a grant for funding research, fellowships and scholarships for socially and economically disadvantaged students

. Each varsity will in turn disclose to the government new research created leading to an intellectual property and also apply for its protection. While the government may use this intellectual property for “public good,” it but will pass on all profits/royalty earned to the varsity. This will have to be shared by the varsity with the creator of the intellectual property as well.