text: Govt to push higher education reforms in Parliaments' winter session – India Higher Education | Indian Education | Education News | India Education
  Govt to push higher education reforms in Parliaments' winter session
  Education Bills in IndiaEducational Tribunals Bill 2010Higher Education Reforms IndiaHRD MinistryKapil Sibal
  HRD Minister, Kapil Sibal
  The Government along with other long pending legislation is also expected to push reforms in higher education sector during the Winter Session of Parliament through a number of proposed legislations.
  To ensure smooth passage of the bills, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal has already held discussions with MPs both from the Congress and its allies.
  The ministry faced some setbacks in the monsoon session as several bills like Educational Tribunals Bill, 2010, NIT Bill and the IIIT D&M Kancheepuram Bill could not be passed.
  One of the important bills is The Institute of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2011 as its passage is necessary for awarding of degrees to students of six Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research setup in 2006-7.
  Similarly Central Educational Institutions Amendment Bill and the Institute of Technology (Amendment) Bill will be to bring the eight new IITs within the ambit of the Institute of Technology Act.
  The Architects (Amendment) Bill, 2010, the Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2010 and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2010 are also listed for consideration.
  The focus though is expected to be on the Educational Tribunals Bill which seeks to provide for establishment of educational tribunals for effective and expeditious adjudication of disputes involving teachers and other stakeholders.
  It also seeks to adjudicate penalties for indulging in unfair practices in higher education.
  According to the senior official in the HRD Ministry, the passage of the Tribunal Bill is crucial as several other key legislations such as the unfair practices bill and National Academic Depository Bill are "intertwined" with each other.
  The other crucial legislation is the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2010. It relates to specific inclusion of child with disability in the definition regarding child belonging to disadvantaged group and enlarge the scope of disabilities.
  It also seeks to amend provisions regarding school management committees in respect of 'aided minority schools'.