The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday amended the Private University Act, 2017, allowing private universities to open off-campus centres.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma, who also holds the education portfolio, made the announcement and told the media that private universities can now operate off-campus centres according to the new Uttar Pradesh Private Universities Act-2019.

“The off-campus centres would work as a constituent unit of private universities. However, the private universities will not have the right to give affiliation to the off-campus centres” said Sharma.

The deputy chief minister added that three important changes have been made to the Uttar Pradesh Private Universities Act 2019. The changes in the new policy include allowing private varsities to start off-campus centres. As per the second amendment, if a private university has a piece of land in its possession, there is a provision to grant permission to establish a private university in the state. The third amendment is in relation to making rules and regulations under the Private Universities Act-2019 by the executive council.

With the new policy, private universities will no longer need the state government’s approval to get autonomy status. The Private Universities Act 2019 provides power to the university’s executive council to ratify the first statutes.

The deputy chief minister further said that with the introduction of a new education policy, more private players in the education sector will come to the state. “We believe the education level of the state will improve as now private players can open off-campus centres and students of the state can now study in the off-campus centres in their districts,” added Sharma.

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