Govt moots educational tribunals to settle legal disputes in private sector

The government plans to establish educational tribunals that will take up legal disputes involving the private sector, Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal said today.

"In several private sector institutions there has been litigation involving students, management and in a few cases even teachers. We are proposing to establish educational tribunals to adjudicate on such disputes," he said, addressing the 92nd convocation of the Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi.

The minister lamented that several professional institutions exploit students by charging exorbitant capitation fees and donations.

"We are seeking to curb such practices by an appropriate enactment. Besides the govt plans to set up an overarching body for overseeing Higher Education, which while preparing and implementing norms for setting up such institutions, will monitor quality of education provided by them," he said.

Sibal said the Centre is also planning to bring in a legislation to regulate foreign education providers in the country so that students are not duped by "fly by night" operators.

Besides, it will facilitate established universities to set up units in India.

He detailed the various reforms being planned in the education sector including regular up-gradation and updating of syllabus, introduction of a choice-based credit system that allows students to pick and choose courses to earn credit, mandatory assessment and accreditation.