The centre will soon come up with a bill to curb malpractices and corrupt practices in the education institutions it is reported. Demanding a capitation fee or indulging in corrupt and unfair practices by educational institutions will be dealt with severely. The Government in this context is all set to introduce the Education Malpractices Bill in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament which begins next week.

The bill empowers government to initiate criminal proceedings against private institutes that charge capitation fee or cheat students through other unfair practices. On the other hand the bill aims at cleaning up the education sector with the Centre being empowered to impose stiff penalties and fines against errant institutes. It was a part of HRD minister Kapil Sibal’s educational reform process in the higher education sector of the country, the bill has already faced a delay of over two years.

The bill had to face stiff resistance in Parliament from Opposition and treasury benches and later in the standing committee as several MPs had questioned the need for a separate bill instead of enforcement of existing laws. According to the official sources the HRD ministry has identified as many as 25 malpractices for which educational institutions will be penalised. A provision of imposing a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh and sentencing of up to 10 years in case of individuals has been proposed in the forthcoming bill. “The mushrooming of fake and illegal universities is also expected be checked through the provisions of this bill,”according to information. The legislation also promises to crackdown on institutes that promise a host of facilities to students at the time of admission and through their prospectus but fail to provide the same. The MPs had argued that the All India Council for Technical Education, a regulatory body for higher technical education, be given more powers instead of bringing in a new law.