Maharashtra Forms 12-Member Panel To Review Student Council Election Rules In Universities, Colleges

Mumbai: Maharashtra's Higher and Technical Education Department has created a 12-member expert committee to examine and propose guidelines for student council elections in state universities and affiliated colleges. The committee's primary goal is to create a peaceful, transparent, and student-focused campus environment. They will tackle issues such as reducing political interference and preventing the commercialization of student elections, ensuring adequate representation of women and students from reserved categories, and promoting involvement from NSS, NCC, sports, and cultural departments.

The move comes after a suggestion from the Director of Higher Education, Pune, who pointed out challenges in implementing the Uniform Statutes of 2018 under the Maharashtra Public Universities Act. The government has given the committee one month to review the legal and regulatory framework, submit a final report, and present policy recommendations.

Dr. Suhas Pednekar, the former Vice-Chancellor of Mumbai University, will chair the committee, while Dr. Prasad Karande, the Mumbai University Registrar, will act as member-secretary. The panel includes Dr. Pandit Vidyasagar, a former SRTMU Nanded Vice-Chancellor; Dr. N.S. Umrani, a former SPPU Pro-Vice-Chancellor; Dr. Ajay Bhamare, the Mumbai University Pro-Vice-Chancellor; Dr. Prabhakar Desai, the SPPU Dean; and Dr. Prashant Amrutkar, the BAMU Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Registrar.

The committee will also have legal expert Dr. Pravin Sayyad and a retired senior law officer of SPPU as representatives.

The committee will explore the possibility of implementing digital and online systems for nominations, scrutiny, voting, and grievance redressal. They will also suggest measures to improve financial accountability by standardizing rules for student council budgets, expenditures, and mandatory audits. Additionally, the panel will develop orientation and training programs for newly elected student representatives to help them understand administrative leadership and institutional procedures. The committee's meetings will be managed by Mumbai University and may be held in a hybrid format.