Gujarat Public Universities Act, 2023
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, - (a) "ABC" means Academic Bank of Credit; (b) "academic services unit" means University science and instrumentation centre, academic staff college, computer centre, University printing press or any other unit providing specialised services for the promotion of any of the objectives of the University; (c) "adjunct professor", "adjunct associate professor" or "adjunct assistant professor" means a person from industry, trade, agriculture, commerce, social, cultural, academic or any other allied field who is so designated during the period of collaboration or association with the University; (d) "affiliated college" means a college which has been granted affiliation by the University; (e) "authorities" means the authorities of the University as specified by or under this Act; (f) "autonomous college", "autonomous institution" or "autonomous department" means a college, institution or department to which autonomy is granted and is designated to be so by the Statutes; (g) "autonomy" means a privilege of the University conferred by the Statutes to permit a college, institution or a university department to conduct academic programme, examinations and develop syllabus for the respective subjects. A college, institution or a university department, which has been granted autonomy shall have full academic, administrative and financial autonomy subject to the provisions of University Grants Commission (UGC); (h) "bodies" means the bodies of the university formed by the respective authorities; (i) "BoM" means Board of Management; (j) "collaboration" means collaborative academic activity of the university or college or institution with other universities, academic institutions including local, regional, national or international institutions, research institutions and organisations in the field of agriculture, industry, trade and commerce, sports, social, cultural, science, technology and any other such field; (k) "college" means a college constituted by the university, or affiliated to the university, situated in the university area; (l) "community college" means an institution providing skill-based expert academic programme as prescribed in the Statutes; (m) "conducted college" means a college maintained and managed by the university; (n) "De-Notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis)" means tribes declared as such by the State Government, from time to time; (o) "department" means a department conducting research, providing consulting and extension services, and teaching a particular subject or a group of subjects in a college and university as prescribed in the Statutes; (p) "Director" means a head of an institution or a centre or a school of the university as designated by the Board of Management or a head of a recognised institution; (q) "Director of Higher Education" and "Director of Technical Education" means respectively Director of Higher Education, Gujarat State and Director of Technical Education, Gujarat State; (r) "Empowered Autonomous College" means an autonomous college that is approved by the University Grants Commission (UGC) as a College with potential for Excellence or College of Excellence, which has high level grade as specified by the Government by notification in the Official Gazette as has been given the status of Empowered Autonomous College by the Authority under the Statutes, with a power to grant degree of such College jointly with the affiliating University; (s) "Empowered Autonomous Cluster Institutions" means a group of autonomous colleges or institutions of the same management or educational society which includes the colleges or institutions, identified by the University Grants Commission (UGC) as College with potential for excellence or College of Excellence, which have high level grade as specified by the Government by notification in the Official Gazette as has been given the status of Empowered Autonomous Cluster Institution by the Authority under the Statutes, and is empowered to grant a joint degree with the affiliating University; (t) "Empowered Autonomous Skills Development College" means a college which has been recognised by the university for conducting the skills development programmes as prescribed by the university as per the National, State Level policy regarding Skills Qualification and Education Framework and which is given the status of Empowered Autonomous Skills Development College by the university to which it is affiliated/constituted and is empowered to grant a joint degree, certificate, diploma and advanced diploma with the affiliating university; (u) "fee" means tuition fees, other fees and charges, including developmental charges; paid for imparting education; (v) "Head of the University Department", "Head of the Institution" and "Head of the College Department" means respectively, a Head of the University Department, a Head of the Recognised Institution and a Head of the College Department, as prescribed in the Statutes; (w) "higher education" means the pursuit of knowledge beyond learning at the stage of higher secondary school education; (x) "Hostel" means a place of residence for the students of the university or a college or an institution, provided, established, maintained, by the university or college or institution, as the case may be; (y) "institution" means an academic institution of learning, other than a college, associated and admitted to the privileges of the university; (z) "management" means the trustees of the managing or governing body, by whatever name called, of any trust registered under the Gujarat Public Trusts Act, 1950, or any society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or a Company registered under section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, under the management of which one or more colleges or recognised institutions or other institutions of higher learning, are conducted and admitted to the privileges of the university: Provided that, in relation to any college or institution established or maintained by the Central Government or the State Government or a local authority like a Municipal Council or a Municipal Corporation means, respectively, the Central Government or the State Government or the Municipal Council or the Municipal Corporation, as the case may be; (aa) "NAAC" means National Assessment and Accreditation Council; (bb) "NBA" means National Board of Accreditation; (cc) "Nomadic Tribes" means tribes wandering from place to place in search of their livelihood, as declared by the State Government and the Central Government, from time to time; (dd) "non-vocational academic staff" means such staff as the State Government may classify to be non-vocational academic staff and includes all such staff which is complimentary to academic staff but, shall not include the staff engaged purely in discharging administrative functions; (ee) "Other Backward Classes" means any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens as declared by the State Government and includes Other Backward Classes declared by the Government of India in relation to the State of Gujarat; (ff) "post-graduate department" means a department in a college or institution of higher learning, research or specialised studies, recognised to be so by the university and imparting post-graduate instruction or guidance for teaching and research; (gg) "prescribed" means prescribed by Statutes or Ordinances or Regulations, as the case may be, made by or under this Act; (hh) "principal" means the head of a college or an institution duly approved by the State Government; (ii) "Professor", "Associate Professor" or "Assistant Professor" means as notified by the University Grants Commission (UGC) from time to time; (jj) "Principal Executive Officer" means the Principal Executive Officer appointed under section 8 of this Act; (kk) "recognised institution" means an institution of higher learning, research or specialised studies, other than a college, and recognised to be so by the university; (ll) "registered graduate" means a graduate of a university registered or deemed to be registered by or under this Act with one of the universities; (mm) "Schedule" means the Schedule appended to this Act; (nn) "Scheduled Castes" means such castes, races or tribes or parts of, or groups within, such castes, races or tribes as are deemed under article 341 of the Constitution of India to be the Scheduled Castes for the purpose of this Act; (oo) "Scheduled Tribes" means such tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within, such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under article 342 of the Constitution of India to be Schedule Tribes for the purpose of this Act; (pp) "school" means a school of studies maintained by or recognised as such by the university or autonomous college, Empowered Autonomous College, Empowered Autonomous Cluster Institution; (qq) "Special Backward Category" means Socially and Educationally Backward Classes of citizens declared as a Special Backward Category by the State Government; (rr) "State Government" means the Government of Gujarat; (ss) "Statutes", "Ordinances", "Regulations" and "Rules" mean, respectively, the Statutes, Ordinances, Regulations and Rules made by or under this Act; (tt) "Student" means an individual who is admitted and registered for an academic programme of the University or affiliated, conducted, autonomous colleges and recognised, institutions of the University; (uu) "Sub-Campus" means a comprehensive inherent independent unit of the university for a predetermined geographical jurisdiction approved by the competent authority for decentralization of academic, administrative, research and extension activities of that jurisdiction, with the objective of improving efficiency and effectiveness; (vv) "teacher" means full time approved professor, associate professor, assistant professor, reader, lecturer, librarian, principal, Director of an Institution, deputy or assistant librarian in the university, college librarian, Director or Instructor of physical education in any university department, conducted, affiliated or autonomous college, autonomous institution or department or recognised institution of the university; (ww) "university" means any of the public universities mentioned in the Schedule; (xx) "university area" means the area specified against the name of the university in the Schedule; (yy) "university department" means a department established and maintained by the university as prescribed by the Statutes, conducting research, providing consultancy and extension services, and teaching a particular subject or a group of subjects; (zz) "University Grants Commission" means the University Grants Commission established under the University Grants Commission Act, 1956; (aaa) "university institution" means a centre, a school, or an institute established and maintained by the university as prescribed by the Statutes; (bbb) "university teacher" means a full time teacher appointed by the university; (ccc) "Vice-Chancellor" means the Vice-Chancellor of the University.