The Keralam government is actively considering two key amendments in the draft new Bill allowing entry of private universities in the State.

The fresh legislation is likely to relax the provision included in the Kerala State Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Bill, 2025, that the sponsoring agencies must maintain a minimum corpus/endowment fund of ₹25 crore. It may also ease the minimum land requirement for setting up multi-campus universities considering the land scarcity in the State, especially in urban areas, according to government sources.

The Kerala State Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Bill, 2025 was approved by the Kerala Assembly on March 25, 2025. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar had referred the Bill to the President of India in September 2025.

The Bill had included a provision that the sponsoring body must set up a minimum endowment fund of ₹25 crore. It stated that the fund has to be deposited in the government treasury. There has to be a minimum land requirement as stipulated by regulatory bodies. However, the sponsoring body can set up the institution as a multi-campus university and the headquarters or registered office should be in a minimum area of 10 acres, it said.

The proposed relaxations in the ₹25-crore endownment fund and minimum land requirements to be included in the new Bill are in tune with the amendments suggested by the MLAs of the United Democratic Front when the Private Universities Bill, 2025, was tabled in the Assembly during the Left front government.

Calls for prioritisation

They had pointed out that the government needed to prioritise long-established and credible corporate educational agencies with several decades of experience in the sector. They had suggested relaxing certain requirements, including the ₹25-crore endowment fund and the 10-acre land mandate, for such educational institutions.

New Bill drafting in progress: Minister

Minister for Higher Education Roji M. John told The Hindu that the process of drafting the new Bill is progressing.

The government intends to table it at the next Assembly session as part of the steps being initiated to set up its ‘Kerala Knowledge Valley’ project that aims to transform the State into a global higher education hub, bringing top-tier foreign universities and premier Indian institutions together in a single ecosystem, he said.