Pallam Raju sets targets before polls

The minister wants to see through

• An ordinance to set up the Indira Gandhi National Women's University in Congress president Sonia Gandhi's constituency Rae Bareli;
• The finalizing of the executive order allowing universities to set up campuses in India;
• The establishment of the National Education Commission.

The first of the three items, the government is very keen to go ahead with establishment of the country's first women’s central university in Rae Bareli. According to sources, though the matter would have to be discussed in cabinet before an ordinance was issued, the government was keen to go ahead with the central university.

Setting up the central university in Rae Bareli is not without political significance, especially in an election year. However, the government has argued that locating the university in the district made sense as it is educationally backward and well connected to the major cities of the state. Additionally, the government has argued that it would be a fitting tribute to the country's first woman prime minister, Indira Gandhi, who represented the constituency.

As for foreign universities enter India, Raju is seeking an executive order allowing them to do so. In September, the ministry, on the basis of the powers vested in it through the UGC Act, prepared an executive order setting out rules and regulations permitting foreign education providers to set up campuses in India on their own and award foreign degrees. The rules are yet to be formally announced as the law ministry is still vetting the order.

Raju is likely to seek Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention to speed up the process. Officials indicated that it is unlikely that there will be a holdup because the idea of permitting foreign universities to operate in the country was high on the priority list of Kapil Sibal during his tenure as the HRD minister.

However, Raju may have to shelve the third item on the agenda—the appointment of the third National Education Commission. On August 15, 2011, Prime Minister had announced that the government would set up an education commission to work out the vision, objectives and goals of the education system.