Maha Minister directs universities to draft guidelines to curb exam paper leaks

Mumbai, Aug 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) In a bid to prevent examination paper leaks across Maharashtra, Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil has directed state universities to draft and publish comprehensive guidelines modelled on the Central government’s framework.

The Minister late Tuesday evening instructed authorities to issue an official circular fixing direct accountability on responsible officers and staff members to ensure leak-free examinations.

The directive comes amid nationwide youth protests triggered by recent paper leak incidents in NEET and other major competitive exams. In response to growing public concern, the state government has initiated a series of regulatory steps. The decisions were announced after Minister Patil chaired an online review meeting with Vice-Chancellors of all public universities across the state.

The meeting focused on reviewing key academic and administrative matters in Maharashtra's higher education sector.

Minister Patil has directed universities to adopt a uniform academic calendar to effectively implement the National Education Policy (NEP). Additionally, institutions must prepare a comprehensive framework to roll out the fourth-year Honours degree programme starting from the academic years 2026-27 and 2027-28.

To better understand and address student grievances, Vice-Chancellors and Pro-Vice-Chancellors must hold direct weekly interaction sessions with a group of at least 50 students, he said in his directive. Colleges will be categorised into clusters to facilitate the sharing of faculty, infrastructure, laboratories, libraries, and educational resources. Furthermore, a specialised workshop will be conducted for heads of examination control departments to study best practices for NEP implementation in other states, said the government release.

Drawing from existing cluster courses developed by Mumbai University and other institutions, the state aims to create an inclusive, high-quality cluster curriculum. Each university has been mandated to execute at least one cluster initiative every month.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Cabinet has cleared an overhaul of its regulatory framework for self-financed private skill universities, replacing university-specific acts with a unified legislative framework. With this decision, the previous Government Resolution dated February 5, 2021, stands repealed. Future institutions will be governed under the Maharashtra Private Skill Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Act, 2024.

According to the new guidelines, sponsoring bodies must submit a Detailed Project Report (DPR) alongside a non-refundable fee of Rs 1 crore. After receiving the Letter of Intent (LoI), sponsors have one year to submit compliance reports. Up to two one-year extensions may be granted at a fee of Rs 50 lakh per year (50 per cent of the initial proposal fee). Failure to comply within the window results in automatic cancellation of the LoI. Any subsequent amendment or modification to a university's constituent act will incur a processing fee of Rs 50 lakh.

According to the Cabinet decision, the self-financed private skill universities will come up on a minimum of 25 acres of land in rural areas, 15 acres in tehsil/district headquarters, a minimum of 10 acres in urban areas excluding BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation and Thane Municipal Corporation limits and a minimum of 10 acres plus an endowment fund of Rs 10 crore in Metropolitan Region Development Authorities.

Further, in Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburbs, and Thane Municipal Limits, a standalone building with at least 15,000 sq meters of constructed space is required. Buildings (minimum 15,000 sq. meters) can be self-owned or taken on a minimum 30-year lease, but land transfer rights are prohibited.

Source: IANS