Maharashtra to appoint Lokpal for universities

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, March 4

The Maharashtra Government has decided to appoint ombudsmen for colleges and other educational institutions in the state while all universities other than agricultural universities would have Lokpal, according to Education Minister Vinod Tawde.

In a statement released here, Tawde said the appointments would be completed in the next few months. He added that Maharashtra was the first state to appoint Lokpals for universities.

According to a notification issued by the Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Department, the facility being set up at the college and institutional levels would be called the Grievance Redressal Cells (GRC) while the Lokpal would be appointed at the university-level.

Grievances not resolved at the college and institutional levels would be escalated to the Lokpal's offices appointed at the university level, according to information on the framework of the GRCs mentioned in the circular.

Tawde said the government has decided to set up the grievance redressal mechanism after complaints were received about colleges denying admission to meritorious students, violation of reservation rules and non-payment of scholarships to eligible students.

The GRCs will become effective from June when the next academic year starts, Tawde said.

While a retired judge or a retired vice-chancellor would be appointed as Lokpal for a university, senior faculty members and principals would head the GRCs.