Haryana amends private university law after Al-Falah terror case

GURGAON: After the discovery of a white-coat terror module operating out of Al-Falah University in Faridabad, the state assembly on Monday passed the Haryana Private Universities (Amendment) Bill to tighten the state's regulatory grip on private higher education institutions. The amendment seeks to plug long-standing legal and procedural gaps by clearly defining the grounds, penalties and process for action against private universities, including financial sanctions, administrative takeover and phased dissolution. Once cleared, the provisions will apply to 26 private universities across the state, including Al Falah, The NorthCap University, Amity University and Apeejay Satya University. The amendment adds a clause B to Section 44 of the Act to introduce stringent penalties for maladministration, providing false or misleading information, and failing to meet prescribed academic and regulatory standards. The revised provision empowers the state to halt admissions in one or more courses, impose fines ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore, and, in extreme cases, order the phased dissolution of a university if corrective steps are not taken within 30 days of lesser penalties being imposed. The clause describes an "administrator" as a person or a committee of up to five members appointed by govt that would assume complete control of a university's affairs during the transition. It empowers the administrator to assume powers of a governing body and board of management, with control over a university's assets, properties and records from the date of appointment. The administrator, the clause states, will be authorised to meet day-to-day expenses and, with prior state approval, dispose of assets, if needed, to ensure academic continuity and safeguard students' interests. Education minister Mahipal Dhanda said after a comprehensive review of the Haryana Private Universities Act, 2006, and its subsequent amendments, the state govt found several provisions required streamlining, particularly Sections 34A, 34B, 44, 44A and 46. At present, sections 44 and 44A of the Act do not prescribe any procedure for the dissolution of a university or the appointment of an administrator. "This necessitated amendments to these sections and the insertion of the new Section 44B to clearly lay down the process for phased dissolution and administrative takeover," the minister said. He added that the provisions of Section 46 were also streamlined and broadened in the larger interest to "remove ambiguities, close loopholes and strengthen regulatory oversight over private universities". "It has been noticed that certain private universities started new courses, enhanced intake capacity and even changed the nomenclature of courses without obtaining prior approval of the state govt by misusing sub-section (3) of Section 34A. Therefore, the provision needed modification," the minister said. The amendments come after Dr Umar Un Nabi, an assistant professor of Al Falah University, was identified as the suicide bomber in the Nov 10 blast and two faculty members, Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie and Dr Shaheen Shahid, were arrested in the case. The founder and chairman of Al Falah Group was also arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case. Haryana govt claimed that the institution exploited loopholes in the earlier law. Established in 2013 under the private university Act, the university has yet to secure accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council. Although two of its three colleges were previously accredited, the recognition was not renewed after it lapsed. Under the old framework, private universities were required to obtain recognition, submit annual reports and file financial disclosures with the state. Officials, however, acknowledged that compliance checks were weak, enforcement was lax, and while penalties existed, there was no clear mechanism for investigation or implementation. The state govt, meanwhile, proposed setting up a new University of Design, Innovation and Technology in Gurgaon to promote credible, future-oriented higher education opportunities for its youth.