WHEN we spoke to Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal in July 2009, and showed him some of the stories we had done on educational malpractices earlier, he promised us a law that would attack malpractices in higher education, and would be in place by early 2010.

To another query, he also asserted that all institutions would be mandatorily accredited.  And thankfully, for the first time in the last 60 years, on January 21, 2010, the Group of Ministers (GoM) cleared the law seeking mandatory accreditation of all institutes.

We hope when the bill  finally gets notified as a law, leading institutions like Delhi University, the IIMs and ISB, Hyderabad, are not allowed to opt out of the accreditation norms.

After all, by citing their example, hundreds of fly-by-night operators also crop up. On the very same day, the GoM also cleared the establishment of education tribunals.

On February 17, 2010, the GoM cleared the The Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical, Medical Educational Institutions and Universities Bill, which will go back to the cabinet for clearance and would probably be tabled in the parliament in the coming budget session.
 
The bill we understand, takes care of a whole lot of issues we had highlighted earlier in a memorandum published in the August edition of the Careers360 magazine, such as misrepresentation of facts, faculty and infrastructural shortages, capitation fees, overcharging of fees, etc. 

We outlined 10 things we wanted Mr Sibal to rectify immediately, in our December 2009 edition. While we thank Mr Sibal for the alacrity with which he has moved in this direction, we assure our readers that we will study the legislation closely as it is tabled in the parliament, and we will work with like minded people so that students get what they deserve.