Maharashtra Government Proposes Major Amendments to Education Act
The Maharashtra government is set to introduce significant amendments to the Maharashtra Unaided Private Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions and Fees) Act of 2015. These changes aim to extend the Act's purview to include government and government-aided institutions, specifically concerning admissions. The proposed revisions are scheduled for presentation during the ongoing state assembly session, marking a pivotal step in educational reform.
Strengthening Regulatory Bodies and Student Protections
The amendments are designed to empower regulatory authorities such as the state's CET cell and the Fee Regulating Authority (FRA), providing much-needed relief to students, who are recognized as primary stakeholders. Key provisions include imposing higher penalties on institutions that charge excess fees, formally including aspirants for professional courses as stakeholders, and granting the FRA the authority to conduct inspections of institutional infrastructure. Additionally, an appellate mechanism will be established to allow appeals against decisions made by these regulatory bodies.
Closing Loopholes and Enhancing Accountability
While some of these measures have been informally practiced, they were not previously enshrined in law. The amendments seek to address all existing loopholes. Notably, the FRA will now have the explicit right to verify whether the infrastructure and amenities provided by institutions justify the fees charged to students. Institutions that fail to submit fee revision proposals for two or more consecutive academic years may face a fee reduction of up to 20%.
Furthermore, the amendments introduce strict provisions to protect students' academic records. Institutions are prohibited from withholding marksheets, transfer certificates, or any other documents without providing written reasons to the student—a safeguard absent from the original 2015 Act.
Increased Penalties for Non-Compliance
To ensure compliance, the amendments significantly raise penalties for violations. For a first contravention, institutions may face a minimum fine of Rs 3 lakh, up from the previous Rs 1 lakh, or twice the amount of excess fees charged, whichever is higher. For subsequent contraventions, penalties can escalate to Rs 15 lakh or three times the excess fees.
Expanding Scope to Include Government and Aided Institutions
The inclusion of government and aided institutions under the Act follows the recent classification of courses such as BMS, BBA, and BCA as professional programs. With the CET cell already managing admissions for government institutions, this amendment formalizes and standardizes the process. A government official emphasized that this move was necessary to address grievances from medical and engineering aspirants, as the original Act only covered students already enrolled in professional institutions.
A senior official noted that the Act, being a decade old, required a comprehensive review based on practical experiences. "It was long pending," he added, highlighting the urgency of these reforms to enhance transparency and fairness in Maharashtra's educational landscape.
