The Union HRD Ministry convened a meeting of all state ministers for higher education to discuss the enactment of a Central legislation to control self-financing institutes like private engineering colleges.
It has been a long-standing demand of various students unions that the Centre step in with a legislation to control consistently escalating fees in such institutions.
The announcement came after HRD Minister Arjun Singh's meeting with a delegation of students representing the Students Federation of India, the All India Students Block and the All India Progressive Students Union here.
In their representation, the three student organisations have demanded the enactment of a Central legislation empowering the states to control the unaided self-financing institutes. They have demanded a complete control on the deemed universities and de-recognition of substandard institutes. The unions have also called for halting the process of commercialisation of education.
Primarily, such legislation, if enacted, would bring under the government's control, self-financed, private engineering colleges, which charge exorbitant fee at present.