Chandigarh: The Punjab assembly on Friday passed two key bills unanimously, paving the way for the establishment of private universities in Mohali and Hoshiarpur, while promising expansion in the state’s public education infrastructure and greater regulatory oversight.

The Aam Aadmi Party govt introduced the Rayat Bahra Professional University, Hoshiarpur Bill 2025 and the CGC University, Mohali Bill 2025, both aimed at promoting multidisciplinary, research-focused education across engineering, medical, social sciences, and liberal arts.

Education minister Harjot Bains, who tabled the bills, said Punjab had witnessed a sharp jump in student enrolment across all colleges — from 7 lakh in 2022 to 9 lakh in the latest academic session. “Govt colleges alone saw an 85% spike in enrolment,” he told the House, adding that new govt colleges were being planned for border and underserved regions. Bains said that the state’s technical university in Bathinda named after Maharaja Ranjit Singh also had seen admissions nearly double in a year.

ITI seats were expanded by 35,000 in three years, with 99% fill-up rate, and the govt planned to add another 5,000-7,000 seats. The new universities would help expand the state’s academic footprint, Bains said, adding that Punjab was also offering modern courses in artificial intelligence, data science, digital marketing, and tourism.

Calls for oversight, inclusive access

Congress MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh and his son, independent MLA Rana Inder Partap Singh, welcomed the move but called for a robust regulatory body to monitor private universities. “It should not be a toothless authority,” Gurjeet said. Inder Partap also flagged concerns of an internal “brain drain”, where teachers were shifting from govt to private institutes, and questioned how many foreign students study in public universities.

Leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa supported the bills but accused the AAP govt of not delivering on its earlier promises. “What happened to the sports university promised by Arvind Kejriwal during the Jalandhar byelection?” he asked, also pointing out that 16 promised medical colleges had been whittled down to seven, with “not even one foundation stone laid.”

Congress MLA Sukhwinder Kotli said Dalit students were being denied entry due to post-matric scholarship issues and criticised vacancies in school leadership roles. In response, Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said these issues were “isolated and technical”, adding that the Mann govt had released ₹1,700 crore in stuck scholarship funds for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes since assuming office.

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