Privatisation charge rejected as govt clears private universities bill

Hyderabad: The Telangana government on Friday clarified in the Legislative Assembly that no government land is being allocated to private universities in the State.

Replying to the discussion on The Telangana Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, 2025 on behalf of Education Minister and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Health Minister Damodara Rajanarsimha said the government has decided to include Amity University and St Mary’s Rehabilitation University in the Schedule by suitably amending the Telangana Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Act, 2018.

The minister said Amity University is proposed at Mamidipally village near the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad mandal of Ranga Reddy district, while St Mary’s Rehabilitation University is proposed at Deshmukh village in Pochampally mandal of Yadadri Bhongir district.

Rajanarsimha asserted that the State government would retain regulatory control over private universities, including oversight of standards, while providing only basic facilities. He maintained that the allegations of land allocation to private institutions were unfounded.

Earlier, participating in the debate, BJP MLA Palvai Harish Babu alleged that the present government was prioritising private universities, similar to the previous regime. He claimed that private education accounts for 55 per cent, while government education stands at 45 per cent, and alleged that private universities collect exorbitant fees without offering adequate concessions to BC, SC and ST students, despite constitutional provisions.

AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi questioned why the government was allegedly favouring private universities by allocating land to them. CPI MLA Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao said his party opposed granting permission to private universities, arguing that it amounted to the privatisation of education.

He pointed out that institutions such as Osmania University and JNTU had produced eminent personalities and urged the government to strengthen public universities instead of encouraging private institutions.

Responding to the concerns, the Health Minister said that providing free health care and education remains the government’s fundamental responsibility. However, he noted that there is no dedicated rehabilitation university anywhere in South India, and therefore the government had approved the establishment of St Mary’s Rehabilitation University, along with Amity University, to fill this critical gap.Subsequently, the Assembly passed the Amendment Bill.