Top colleges may soon get autonomous status

Prestigious colleges across the country will soon be free from the shackles of affiliating universities if the University Grants Commission (UGC) has its way.

The UGC is planning to revive the Centre’s proposal in this regard in its upcoming meeting later this month.

This is welcome news for institutions such as St Stephen’s College and Sri Ram College of Commerce in Delhi, Sophia College in Mumbai and Loyola College in Chennai.

“The idea of giving autonomy to colleges was first mentioned in the sixth five-year plan.

Unfortunately, till date there are barely 400 colleges which are autonomous. We want some of best colleges to avail this status as it will allow them to innovate their curriculum and prescribe their own syllabus.” UGC chairman Ved Prakash told dna.

Acquiring autonomous status gives a college the freedom to prescribe its own syllabus and conduct examinations independently. The academic degree, however, is awarded by the university it is affiliated to.

To gain autonomy, an institution needs the permission of the affiliating university, a no objection certificate (NOC) from the state government and the approval of the UGC inspection team, which assesses whether the college can perform the required duties.

According to Prakash, one of the reasons for the lack of autonomous institutions in the country is because colleges often face difficulty in obtaining an NOC from state governments, which are skeptical about the colleges’ ability to conduct examinations independently. Opposition from faculty members is another factor.

Even this time, the UGC’s plan could run into opposition from teachers who feel that making a college autonomous may lead to a hike in its fee, which would eventually hurt students.