Lokesh Bats for Major Overhaul of AP Higher Education
All the bills were passed unanimously.
Vijayawada:Education Minister Nara Lokesh on Wednesday introduced four bills in the state assembly to overhaul higher education, regulate fees, ease private university approvals, create industry-linked skill universities and facilitate recruitment of 1,523 faculty members.
All the bills were passed unanimously.
Introducing the AP higher education regulatory and monitoring commission amendment bill-2026, Lokesh said the existing commission had exceeded its mandate and functioned as a parallel system to the higher education commissioner and APSCHE, resulting in administrative confusion.
The amendment converts the commission into a committee whose role will be restricted to fee regulation and prevention of commercialisation. Fee-related functions will remain with it, while other activities will be handled by the higher education commissioner. A retired high court judge will continue as chairperson, with representatives of JNTU, NTR Health University, APSCHE and the higher education commissioner as ex-officio members. The government proposes a transparent, time-bound digital mechanism with legislative accountability.
The AP Private Universities Establishment and Regulation Amendment Bill-2026 reduces the minimum land requirement from 50 acres to 10 acres in the CRDA, Greater Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati municipal corporation areas, and to 15 acres elsewhere for greenfield and brownfield universities. The minimum investment requirement has been removed, with applications to be assessed case-by-case by an expert committee.
The endowment fee has been cut to Rs 5 crore.
A minimum 3.01 CGPA will be mandatory under UGC norms for brownfield universities. The earlier requirement of collaboration with a foreign university ranked among the global top 100 for joint degrees has been dropped. New foreign universities will be assessed on their three-to-five-year track record. The bill also facilitates Vishnu Women’s University, the state’s second women’s university, and provides a 60-day online fast-track approval process.
Introducing the Private Skill Universities Establishment and Regulation Bill-2026, Lokesh said skilled manpower was essential for achieving Andhra Pradesh’s $2.4-trillion economy target by 2047. The bill allows ITIs, polytechnics and existing institutions to be converted into brownfield skill universities, besides greenfield institutions.
Industry participation in curriculum, equipment, training and apprenticeships will be encouraged. Citing Sri City International University, he highlighted a German model of 33 per cent classroom learning and 66 per cent industry-based training.
The State Educational Institution Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre Bill-2026 seeks to fill 1,523 faculty posts. Lokesh said nearly 77 per cent of teaching posts in state universities were vacant, with recruitment last held in 2012. The bill provides legal clarity on university-level recruitment, departmental reservation, seniority and promotions, faculty adjustment and creation of supernumerary posts, aiming to ensure reservation and recruitment withstand legal scrutiny.