More burden on varsities

No doubt, the new guidelines will make the universities more powerful but at the same time, they would also make them more responsible.

The UGC is going to don the role of AICTE by confining itself to the role of just approvals and renewals which will be based on the reports of the concerned universities. But the onus of overseeing the functioning, the corrective measures to be enforced, syllabi, faculty recruitment, academic affairs will rest with the concerned universities alone.

Although till now, most of these responsibilities have been performed by the universities, they have been doing it in a haphazard and lopsided manner. If any issue cropped up, they have been passing on the buck to the AICTE. This cannot continue in the new system as the UGC will be more specific and it may link up the affiliations, renewals and permission with monetary grants. So, the varsities have to be a bit cautious hereafter and a foolproof mechanism is needed for making the technical institutions more vibrant in academic standards and also perfect in other issues like infrastructure, faculty, students, placement record, project record monitoring etc, according to sources in Higher Education Council.

Surely, the burden on universities will become manifold from the next academic year onwards. As a result, the academic work will be hit and most of the faculty will have to engage themselves more on non-academic work. “Even now, we have been members of some committee or the other. We have to go around inspecting the colleges off and on. This is being done at the cost of our regular academic work. At times, we are unable to meet the academic calendar set by the EC. Now, with the new responsibility, we have to concentrate on the issues of colleges, their concerns, preparation of reports to UGC. This will hamper the academic atmosphere in a big way,” a senior professor at JNTU Hyderabad told The Hans India.

“If any college or management commits any fraud, it is we who have to recommend the penal action. It’s a long drawn process and we may have to face the wrath of members of EC, local politicians. This will be another headache,” another professor lamented.

Most of the Executive Councils (ECs) are being filled with political appointees. “The word of the local MP, MLA or other prominent political leader carries much weight. In the new set up, more politicking with regard to renewals, approval recommendations, ratification of intake, faculty aspects would take place. Cronyism and dirty politics pollute the healthy academic environment,” Krishna Prasad, former chief Principal of SHAR institutes felt.

Some universities like Osmania (900) and JNTUH (400) have hundreds of affiliated colleges under their belt. Unless they are relieved of that burden, things will not improve.

“The National Knowledge Commission under Sam Pitroda has recommended nearly six years back that the number of affiliated colleges under any university shall not exceed 100. It would be better if the number is even less. So, unless this is implemented and reduce the non-academic workload on universities, there will be no standards”, Krishna Prasad opined.