Mumbai: No Development Bodies At Half Of MU Colleges

Mumbai: Less than half of 900-odd colleges under the University of Mumbai (MU) have formed a key body responsible for advising the institute on its academic and administrative affairs. According to information provided by MU in response to a query posed in the recent senate meeting, only 413 colleges have a College Development Committee (CDC) in place, of which 393 institutes were able to furnish the details of their respective bodies.

The varsity has issued a circular directing all its affiliated colleges to immediately form CDCs, and threatened to freeze the first year admissions in case of non-compliance.

The Maharashtra Public Universities Act 2016 requires every college in the state to have a CDC, which comprises the college principal, representatives of college management, teachers, non-teaching-staff, students as well as local members from the fields of education, industry, research and social service.

The consultative panel is required to prepare a development plan for the institute's academic, administrative and infrastructural growth, and prepare the annual calendar and budget of the institute. It's also tasked with offering recommendations on everything from new courses to the issues of discipline, safety and security.

The committee is required to meet at least four times an academic year, and its annual report should be submitted by the colleges to the university by the end of June. Vijay Pawar, a teacher and senate member, said that many colleges avoid appointing CDCs in order to make decisions unilaterally.

“CDC is the most important statutory body. All the matters related to the college, be it recommending structural changes in the college building, approving research proposals or deciding on how to utilise grants, must be finalised in the committee meetings. In the absence of the committee, research proposals and teachers' promotions are delayed,” he said.

Pawar added that it's the varsity's responsibility to ensure the proper functioning of CDCs in all the colleges. “There's no check on the existence and functioning of CDCs. In most colleges, the body is only on paper with no meetings taking place. The institutes simply submit false back-dated minutes of the meetings. Before approving new courses, the university must check whether the college has a body in place and whether meetings are being conducted. The minutes must be periodically updated on the college website,” he said.