ugc-aicte.com

MANGALORE, MARCH 7. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has agreed to grant autonomous status to seven degree colleges of Mangalore University.

The autonomous status will be in force initially for six years — from 2005-06 to 2010-11. The UGC took the decision based on the recommendations of an expert committee that visited these colleges between September 10, 2004 and October 13, 2004 to verify their claims for autonomous status.

Ashok K. Dogra, Joint Secretary, UGC, conveyed the decision of the UGC to Mangalore University recently. Now it is up to the university and the State Government to take a final decision in the matter.

The colleges for which the UGC has agreed to grant autonomous status are St. Ann’s College of Education (Women College), Mangalore; School of Social Work, Roshni Nilaya, Mangalore; St. Aloysius College, Mangalore; St. Agnes College, Mangalore; Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheswara College, Ujire; Bhandarkars Arts and Science College, Kundapura (Udupi) and Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College, Udupi.

Five left out

As many as 12 colleges affiliated to Mangalore University had sought UGC autonomy through the university. Of these, the claims of five colleges have not been considered for autonomy at present. They are Vijaya College, Mulki; TMA Pai College of Education, Udupi; Poornaprajna College, Udupi; Canara College, Mangalore and Vivekananda College, Puttur.

Sources said that now the approval of the UGC (conferment of autonomous status to seven colleges) would be placed before the decision-making bodies of the university for their approval. If those bodies passed it, then it would be sent to the Government for final approval.

The Joint Secretary made it clear that the UGC shall reimburse only actual admissible expenditure, within the overall ceiling provided for in the 10th Plan guidelines of autonomous colleges, incurred by the college during the period for which approval to the grant of autonomy is approved.

The sources said as the UGC has approved for the autonomy the next course of action by the university and the Government would be based on the Draft Statute Governing the Grant of Autonomy to Colleges and Units and Functioning of Autonomous Colleges (Framed under Section 40 (1) p read with Section 64 of the Karnataka State Universities Act, 2000) prepared by the Mangalore University.

What the draft says

According to the draft, an autonomous college will have a governing body, an academic council, a board of studies and a finance committee to ensure proper management of academic, financial and general administrative affairs. Besides, it will have an examination committee, an admission committee, planning and evaluation committee. The principal of the college will be the chairman of both academic council and finance committee. The heads of the departments concerned will head the Board of Studies.

Calcutta will get more autonomous colleges if the government accepts the recommendation of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

On Friday, the UGC suggested that more colleges in the city and the rest of the state be granted autonomy so the workload on affiliating universities could be reduced.

The UGC wants universities to focus on research instead of getting tied up with undergraduate studies.

“Institutes like Calcutta University (CU) are unable to cope with the increasing workload, resulting from a rise in the number of undergraduate colleges. The workload can be reduced if more colleges are declared autonomous,” S.P. Thyagarajan, who heads a committee set up by the UGC to draw up an action plan to streamline the functioning of affiliating universities, said in Calcutta on Friday.

CU is the largest affiliating institute in the state, with 140 colleges in its fold. According to the UGC, no more than 100 colleges should function under one university.

In Bengal, only three colleges — St Xavier’s and two Ramakrishna Mission institutes — have been granted autonomy. The state-run Presidency College has been denied “full autonomy” by the state government following opposition from CPM-controlled teachers’ unions.

“A number of city colleges had sounded out the university for autonomy but later backed out gauging the government’s mood. Now with the UGC spelling out its stand, the government will have to soften its position,” said a university official.

Thyagarajan was in town to take part in a review meeting with vice-chancellors and officials of 31 universities in the east and the Northeast. All the vice-chancellors agreed that the colleges rated A+ by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) should be considered for autonomy.

The UGC team, which also suggested setting up of more universities, will submit its report to the Centre by December. The suggestions are likely to be implemented in the next academic session.

Madurai: The University Grants Commission (UGC) will soon empower some autonomous colleges across the nation which will award their own degrees to their students instead of universities they are affiliated to.

To culminate this strategy, the UGC Act is being amended by the commission.

“We have framed a set of guidelines to select colleges. Around 1,000 colleges will be selected by the UGC to give them power to award their own degrees,” said Xavier Alphonse, UGC member.

Colleges with minimum 15 years of autonomous status and with a good examination system would be chosen. Besides, the particular autonomous college must have social reputation and should have satisfied all the criteria fixed by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

According to UGC, another important provision would be that the State government should continue to extend funding support to chosen autonomous colleges.

The Union Human Resource Development Minister Mr. Arjun Singh has asked UGC to prepare separate regulations for institutions run by people from linguistic/religious minorities with regard to administration, recruitment, selection of teachers and all issues connected to governance.

“Work on drafting rules is going on and we are taking the observations of Supreme Court and High Court also in cases related to minority institutions, particularly in the St. Stephen’s College case,” Dr. Alphonse added.