Patna, March 25: The Bihar cabinet today gave its nod to a Bill which aims to throw open the doors of the state to private universities, the decision being seen as a first step towards rebuilding the trust between the government and Raj Bhavan following the exit of Devanand Konwar and the entry of D.Y. Patil as governor.

The legislation, sources said, has been christened Private University Bill. No official confirmation was, however, forthcoming on the ground that the Assembly is in session.

Sources said the Bill would go to both Legislative Houses for approval and then to Raj Bhavan for the nod to give it the final shape of a law.

During Konwar’s period, the Nitish Kumar government had a frustrating experience in getting approval of Bills related to higher education and universities of the state as the governor-cum-chancellor’s office sat on as many as five pieces of legislation.

“But now we are confident that not only this Bill, but even those which are pending will finally get approval from Raj Bhavan,” an official in the education department said.

Governor Patil has strongly indicated that bringing higher education back on the tracks would be his priority. Patil, a pioneer in private education in Maharashtra, has publicly said that Bihari students should get quality education in their home state itself instead of having to go outside. “The state government and the governor are thinking on the same lines,” the education department official stressed.

The government would not provide any kind of assistance to entrepreneurs willing to set up private universities in Bihar, the sources said. The government would instead give clearances for setting up universities after verifying whether or not the institute has fulfilled the criteria.

There should be at least five acres of land in the municipal corporation area for setting up a private university. The area of the university should be at least 10 acres if it is being set up outside the corporation area, sources said.

The vice-chancellors, pro-vice-chancellors and teachers in these universities would be appointed after consultation with eminent academicians of the state, the sources added.

The government had earlier been staunchly opposed to the entry of private universities. The sudden U-turn is being attributed to the trend of a large number of Bihari students taking admission in deemed universities in Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and other places.

Academicians are still sceptical. Shivjatan Thakur, professor of English at Patna University, told The Telegraph: “A private university is meant only for the oligarchic class. Students from the masses would be deprived of getting higher education at these private universities.”

Thakur said the government should have strengthened its own universities instead of promoting private ones. There are 256 constituent colleges in the state, many of which still do not have basic facilities such as toilets, drinking water, play ground, library, buildings etc.