The proposed educational tribunals Bill, 2010 is likely to have a smooth passage in the Parliament with the major stakeholders?academia and scholars?supporting it since it would fast track the settlement of disputes in the higher education sector.
As per the Bill, which aims to set up educational tribunals to adjudicate disputes in the higher education space, these tribunals will have all the powers and jurisdiction of civil courts which would help them to expeditiously resolve disputes involving teachers, students and institutions.
?It is a welcome move because any litigation related to academic institutions can now be put up in the tribunals. However, the tribunals should have people with both academic and judicial knowledge. With the size of the education sector increasing, we will need judgments based on both academics and the judiciary,? said SG Dhande, director, IIT, Kanpur.
The premier business schools of the country – the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) second the thought. ?Students often get distraught because there is no proper grievance redressal mechanism. Same is the case with faculty because they can’t work with an employer if they are not treated well despite a good monetory compensation. The tribunals will address these issues,? said Devi Singh, director, IIM Lucknow.
The tribunals will be established at both national and state levels.
?Moreover, the academic calender gets disrupted sometimes because of legal cases which will not happen once the tribunals are in place,? Dhande added.
University of Delhi’s vice chancellor Prof Dinesh Singh concurs: ?It is a good idea to have educational tribunals as they will be more focussed and lead to efficient disposal of education related matters.? In fact, the move is also seen as a step towards the formation of an overarching regulatory body in higher education called the National Commission for Higher Education and Research .
?All these efforts are worth implementing in view of the larger goal of setting up the NCHER. The tribunals will give an opportunity to all stakeholders to speak about their grievances,? said AICTE’s acting chairman S S Mantha.
?We need a forum for quick settlement of disputes related to exams and admissions especially when the government is letting all private and foreign education providers function in the country. These players might attract students by putting out deceiving advertisements. Hence, the tribunals must have people who are knowledgeable of academics so that complaints related to students, faculty and management,? said eminent educationist and chairman of the Centre for Development Studies Prof NR Madhava Menon.
However, there are certain doubts in the minds of teachers. ?Though the tribunal will take care of the lag in time that courts usually are associated with, any recourse to legality outside the campus would be cut off,? said Brinda Bose, Department of English, University of Delhi.
?The tribunals will be a good platform for an aggrieved student, employee or public at large to seek redressal of their grievances. It would also allow institutions to seek relief from the regulators,? said Ajit Rangnekar, Dean, ISB.