Colleges find Mumbai University’s clause hard to swallow

HR College in Churchgate was the first college affiliated to Mumbai University to have been granted autonomy in 2007. They had applied for it in 2002. But the college decided to surrender it.

The reason, sources claim, is a clause of the Mumbai University. It states that the composition of the governing body should have five members from the college management and six from outside.

However, this was not agreeable to the HR College management.

Suhas Pednekar, principal of Ruia College, which has also applied for autonomy, said most colleges were hesitant to apply for autonomy only because of the clause. “Ruia was perhaps the first college to have applied for autonomy in the 1970s when I was a student. We again applied for it in 2007-08. Our autonomy application is currently with the University,” said Pednekar.

“We have given an application requesting the varsity to reconsider representation of the management in the governing body.”

Pednekar explained that no college would agree to the rule as the representatives from the college is in minority.

However, sources from the the university said the application had delayed Ruia’s autonomy proposal.