JIS University Bill passed in WB Assembly amid LF walkout

The JIS University Bill-2014 was today passed in the West Bengal Assembly, even as the Opposition Left Front walked out of the House protesting that the Bill was laid before submission of a search committee report on it.
State Higher Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, however, said the feasibility of the proposal for setting up the JIS University had been examined by a seven-member committee headed by the vice-chairman of the West Bengal State Council of Higher Education and the committee had recommended the establishment of the proposed self-financed private university.
Since the university would be funded by the sponsoring trust, the state government would have no financial liability in giving effect to the provisions of this Bill, he said.

Considering the growing need for quality facilities in the state's higher education system to cater to the rising number of students, the state government earlier formulated a policy to encourage private investment in the state's higher education system.
Passage of the bill would help establish and incorporate the new private university promoted by the Narula Educational Trust at Agarpara in North 24 Parganas district.
Presently, the Trust runs various engineering and technological colleges and one dental college.
Around 18 per cent students opt for higher education across the country and in West Bengal this rate was only 12.6 per cent, which has now gone up to 17.6 per cent, Chatterjee said in the House, adding, the state government was targeting at boosting up the figure to 30 per cent by 2020.

The Minister later told reporters outside the House that two more Bills were likely to be passed in the House to allow two more private universities - AMITY at Rajarhat New Town and Institute of Engineering and Management (IEM) at Salt Lake Sector-V.