The proposal to allow an educational institution to launch a private university in Pune was accepted by the Maharashtra cabinet on Thursday. The fact that the university’s founder, who is currently a minister, attended the meeting when the idea was approved raises the possibility of a conflict of interest.
The state cabinet approved a proposal to give Pune-based Jayawant Shikshan Prasarak Mandal (JSPM), established by state health minister Tanaji Sawant, the status of self-financed university during a meeting on Thursday. Sawant stayed in the meeting when the suggestion was brought up for debate.
Universities that are self-funded are not eligible for public help or subsidies and are free to choose their course offerings, tuition rates, and curricula. After passing the Maharashtra Self-Financed Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Act in 2013, the state government began granting this status.
“Ideally, the minister should have excused himself from the meeting when the proposal came up for a nod in the cabinet,” said a senior official.
According to its website — www.jspm.edu.in– the institute was founded by Sawant, where he continues to hold the founder secretary’s position.
The university will be situated in Pune district’s Haveli tehsil. It will start with the new academic year, 2023–2024. The chief minister’s office said in a release on Thursday that a law to that effect would be submitted in the state legislature.
Sawant was unavailable for comment.