To prevent exploitation of students and ensure that new professional colleges are not set up purely for financial reasons.
The Ministry of Higher and Technical Education is flooded with more than two hundred proposals seeking permission for opening new biotechnology colleges across major cities and towns of Maharashtra.
However, the government has kept them on hold till they come out with new policy guidelines and monitoring cell. These will certify whether a college has the required infrastructure and expertise to go ahead with the biotechnology degree courses.
A special task force headed by Dr Raghunath Masheklar has already been appointed to prepare the guidelines.
The committee has already held a couple of meetings. The idea is that new colleges should not mushroom purely on financial powers and for commercial exploitation of students. They should be able to provide quality education too.
A senior officer in the education ministry said, “Our experience has been bad. Last year we gave permission to some private colleges promising to start new professional courses. But it was found that they neither had the basic infrastructure nor the expertise to run professional courses. Every new college will have to be thoroughly scrutinised and must fit the stipulated guidelines.”
The minister for higher and technical education, Dilip Walse-Patil on Monday said, “The task force will come out with guidelines for biotechnology and other professional colleges that are in demand.” However, to ensure that no student who has passed his standard is deprived of college education, the government has amended its own policy decision and sanctioned 50 new colleges for arts, science and commerce.
According to a senior officer in education ministry, “Two years ago the government had taken the decision not to give permissions to new colleges for traditional courses such as arts, commerce and science. However, with Mumbai itself registering a 76.67 pass percentage, the government relaxed its decision and allowed 50 new colleges for faculty of arts, science and commerce.”
The ministry of higher and technical education had received 629 proposals from across the state seeking permission to open new colleges in 2007 for faculty of arts, science and commerce. Of which 64 proposals came for new colleges in Mumbai alone.
According to education department officers, “Despite the trends among the students to take admissions for professional courses, the demand for arts, science and commerce has not declined. Therefore, the government was forced to give
permission to 50 new colleges.”
However, what has set the government worrying is that demand for all new colleges, professional and traditional courses, are coming from urban centres. Nobody is pitching for opening a new college in rural or semi-urban part of Maharashtra. The students from rural areas have to travel all the way to urban centres thus
increasing the cost of education.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}