Autonomy to Colleges

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Autonomy to Colleges

• Dr. N. Prabhu Dev
• Vice-Chancellor
• Bangalore University

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Autonomous

• Auto Self Nomos Law
• Having a self governance
• Functioning independently without control by
  others
• Existing/developing Independently of other
• Obliged to account for ones acts
• ..
• If the bigger message is understood, the
  discussion would be more focused

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India has 421 Universities and 20,918 colleges
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Distribution of Autonomous colleges across States
(Total in India 300)
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Autonomous Colleges in Univ. in Karnataka
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Ratio of Affiliated Colleges to Autonomous
Colleges
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Spirit Behind Autonomy

• Colleges with potential needs more autonomy
• Teachers need more academic freedom
• State holders should be provided with more
  responsibility
• Education Commission (1964-66) recommends autonomy

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The Need

• Due to the increase in number of affiliated
  colleges, the Universities are burdened with
  examination work

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Core features of autonomy

• Decentralized management culture
• Delegation of responsibility with accountability
• Willing and honest participation of stake holders
  and management
• Creative and innovative ambience
• Sufficient financial resources
• Capacity to mobilize resources

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Regulation of Autonomous Colleges
Central Govt (MHRD)
UGC
State Govt.
University
Autonomous College
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Governance of Autonomous Colleges
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In favor of Full Autonomy

• In matters of curriculum, examination and
  evaluation, finances as well as management of
  teaching and non-teaching staff. Freedom brings
  responsibility
• Neither students nor the cause of quality
  education is served by standardization through a
  large university with unmanageable number of
  affiliated colleges
• In competitive education/job market, each college
  has a reputation to protect. Reputation is a
  more reliable tool than standardization, to
  sustain the quality of education

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• Academic autonomy has always been regarded as a
  fundamental necessity for institutions of higher
  education. The conspicuous absence of academic
  freedom and institutional autonomy in the case of
  colleges in India has been the greatest
  dysfunctional factor responsible for the decline
  of standards

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• The rigidity of affiliating system also deprives
  the good teachers of the opportunity to take
  initiatives for creative, imaginative and more
  fruitful action. The existing bureaucratic and
  centralized structure of university has to be
  radically altered to avoid delays, to evade
  attempts at rigid uniformities, to create elastic
  and dynamic system and to promote innovation and
  reform. Therefore, in advocating Autonomy to
  deserving affiliated colleges.

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UGC guidelines for Autonomous Colleges during
eleventh plan period (2007-2012)

• Objectives
• Freedom of Autonomous colleges
• Relationship with the parent University, the
  State Government and other educational
  institutions
• Modes of conferring Autonomous status to chosen
  colleges
• What is covered when autonomy is conferred

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UGC guidelines for Autonomous Colleges during
eleventh plan period (2007-2012)

• Target Group and Eligibility Target Group
• Criteria for identification of institutions for
  grant of autonomy
• Preparation prior to applying for autonomy
  (Faculty preparation, Departmental preparation,
  Common programmes to be adopted, Institutional
  preparation)
• Procedure for applying

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UGC guidelines for Autonomous Colleges during
eleventh plan period (2007-2012)

• Procedure for approval by the UGC
• Nature of Assistance and procedure for release of
  Autonomy Grants

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Award of Degrees through parent University

• The parent university will award degrees to the
  students evaluated and recommended by autonomous
  colleges
• The degree certificates will be in a common
  format devised by university
• The name of the college will be mentioned in the
  degree certificate, if so desired
• Autonomous colleges that have completed three
  terms can confer the degree under their own title
  with the seal of the university

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Relationship with the parent university, the
state government and other educational
institutions

• Autonomous colleges are free to make use of the
  expertise of university departments and other
  institutions to frame their curricula, devise
  methods of teaching, examination and evaluation
• They can recruit their teachers according to
  existing procedures (for private and govt.
  colleges)
• The parent universities will accept the
  methodologies of teaching, examination,
  evaluation and the course curriculum of its
  autonomous colleges
• It will also help the colleges to develop their
  academic programmes, improves the faculty and to
  provide necessary guidance by participating in
  the deliberations of the different bodies of the
  colleges

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The role of the parent Universities

• To bring more autonomous colleges under its fold
• To promote academic freedom in autonomous
  colleges by encouraging introduction of
  innovative academic programs
• To facilitate new courses of study, subject to
  the required minimum number of hours of
  instruction, content and standards
• To permit them to issue their own
  provisional/Immigration and other certificates
• To ensure that degrees/diplomas/certificates
  issued indicate the name of the college
• To depute various nominees of the university to
  serve in various committees of the autonomous
  colleges and get the feedback on their
  functioning
• To create separate wings wherever necessary to
  facilitate the smooth working of the autonomous
  colleges

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Other Resources

• Education Commission recommendations of college
  autonomy (1964-66)
• The National Policy on Education formulations of
  objectives for autonomous colleges (1986-92)
• Report of Central Advisory Board of Education
  (CABE) committee on Autonomy of HEIs (2005)
• National Knowledge commission Note on higher
  education, 29th November, 2006
• UGC document on XI plan profile of higher
  education in India
• Other Scholarly articles related to autonomy
  colleges

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Thank You