The three institutions are the Ahmedabad-based Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI), the Ahmedabad Education Society, and the Vadodara-based Navrachna Education Society.

Principal Secretary (Education) Hasmukh Adhia told Newsline on Thursday that these three institutions are expected to start their activities from the next academic year, June 2009. He, however, clarified that the government had given an in-principle approval to these bodies much before the Model Code of Conduct came into force early this month.

A legal procedure, according the full university status to the three educational institutions, will be completed during the next Assembly session.

During the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit this January, as many as 86 parties had inked MoUs in the education sector, with several of them expressing their intention to set up new educational complexes across the state, Adhia said.

He said at least six of these educational institutions had made a proposal to the government urging it to allow them to set up self-financed universities in different parts of Gujarat. The government then constituted a screening committee to look into the proposal mooted separately by these organisations. Finally, the screening committee recommended the case of three of the six educational institutions to the government.

The Ahmedabad Education Society, which runs five self-financed colleges, will withdraw their affiliation from Gujarat University, and amalgamate into the new “Ahmedabad University” being set up by the Society.

In the first phase, the Society proposes to spend Rs 46 crore of the total Rs 350 crore to be invested in the new university, which will impart education to about 22,000 students in courses like engineering, biotechnology, life science, marine science, non-conventional energy, media communication and environment science.

The ICFAI University, which is also setting up its new campus in Ahmedabad, will invest about Rs 100 crore in its new project. Besides a four-year integrated B.Ed programme, the new university will introduce courses in MCA, B. Tech, M S (Finance), MBA and Diploma in Port Management.