No holiday for schools and colleges in Chikmagaluru, Kodagu: DC
Bharat Bandh
Chikmagaluru, Jan 7: The associations of auto, lorry and taxi owners and drivers have extended their support to the Bharat Bandh called by various labour organisations on January 8. In view of this, the normal life in the district on Tuesday and Wednesday may affect.
But in Kodagu, the chances of getting support for the bandh are bleak. The private buses would ply as usual and schools and colleges would remain open. Following the bandh call, labour organizations in Kodagu also appealed the people and various other organizations to extend their support.
But Kodagu district would stay away from the bandh and only labourers would conduct protests in three taluks. Moreover, Deputy Commissioner Srividya clarified that there would be no holiday for schools and colleges.
However, the bandh call gets good response in Chikmagaluru district. As the KSRTC labour union has extended its support to the bandh across the state, the KSRTC buses would stay away from service on Tuesday and Wednesday. But the private bus owners association has not yet taken any decision to support the bandh. The absence of KSRTC bus service would certainly hit the normal life and students.
Deputy Commissioner MK Srirangaiah on Monday announced that there would be no holiday for schools and colleges on Tuesday. But due to the absence of KSRTC bus service, the students might face the problems. All medical shops would be functioning and the private hospitals have not yet announced their decisions. Majority of the private hospitals and government hospitals, hotels would function normally.
As the associations of lorry, auto, taxi owners and drivers have extended their support to the bandh, lorries, taxis and autos would stay away from the roads. Along with them, Raita Sangha, Hasiru Sene, LIC Association, Bank Employees Associations, ASHA workers association, Anganwadi Workers Association, Transport Workers Association, Mid-day Meals Employees Association, Plantation Workers Association and other organizations have also extended their support to the bandh.
Kodagu
The bandh call given by various labour organizations against the central government got no support in the district. Private bus service would be as usual and schools and colleges would also function. DC Srividya has already clarified that there would be no holiday for schools and colleges tomorrow.
Private Bus Owners Association president Hosur Ramesh Joyappa said that the private buses would function normally. Auto Owners and Drivers Association president DH Medappa also said that the auto service would be there in the district. Even the merchants of the district have not extended their support to the bandh.
Appeal for support
Meanwhile, Labour Organisations Joint Action Committee district leader and Anganwadi Workers association leader TP Ramesh appealed the people and organizations to support the bandh call given against the central government demanding controlling price rise, job opportunities, minimum wage of Rs 18,000 as per the 7th Pay Commission, regularization of contract workers, do not privatise the public sector industries, provide social security and implement the recommendations of Dr Swaminathan Committee report on solving the agriculture problems and farmers suicide.
Protest
A protest march would be held at Gandhi Maidan in Madikeri, near Mariyamma temple in Virajpet and Somawarpete on January 8 at 10.30 am. On January 9 at 11 am, a protest march would be taken out from Chowki Circle to Gandhi Maidan. Employees of corporate sector, BSNL, LIC, KSRTC, Plantation workers, Bank organizations, anganwadi, ASHA, mid-day meals, library, gram panchayat, hospitals, porters, farmers, farm labourers, postal organizations, construction labourers, drivers, unorganized sector workers, unemployed youths were appealed to participate in the protest, he said.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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