At least 16 colleges affiliated to the University of Mumbai (MU) have been granted autonomy by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in the last eight months, taking the tally of the varsity's autonomous colleges beyond 70.
The list includes four engineering colleges while the rest are traditional Arts-Science-Commerce institutes. Except for a college in Ratnagiri and another in Sindhudurg, most of these institutes are located in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
The Autonomy Status
The autonomy, which is initially granted for a period of ten academic years, enables colleges to start new courses, design their curricula and form admission policies. The state and the Centre have been encouraging colleges to seek autonomy to ease the burden on public universities and allow more flexibility and options to students as envisaged under the national Education Policy (2020).
"Though we are a Commerce college, we want to incorporate some Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) courses in our curriculum. We also want to increase our tie-ups with other institutes," said Vijayta Shetty, Principal, Vivek College of Commerce at Goregaon, which became autonomous last month.
New Rules On Granting Autonomy
The large set of approvals came after the commission notified new rules for granting autonomy in April last year to limit the role of the parent university. The UGC (Conferment of Autonomous Status upon Colleges and Measures for Maintenance of Standards in Autonomous Colleges) Regulations, 2023, allow the higher education regulator to accept applications for autonomy from colleges without approval from their respective parent universities. While the varsities have a 30-day window to examine the applications, if they fail to respond in this period, it's presumed that they have no objection.
Under the 2018 regulations, which were replaced by the new guidelines, colleges were required to submit a proposal to the parent university, which had to forward it to the commission within 30 days of receipt.
MU Has Highest Number Of Autonomous Colleges
MU, which has 874 affiliated colleges, now has the highest number of autonomous colleges among public universities across the state. Three colleges affiliated with the Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey (SNDT) Women's University are also located in the city.
The state's 150-odd autonomous colleges this year took a lead in implementing various provisions of NEP, including introducing four-year undergraduate programmes. The remaining colleges will follow the suit from the next year 2024-25.
List Of New Autonomous Colleges Under MU
Swamy College of Commerce & Economics and Smt. Thirumalai College of Science, Wadala (Mumbai)
R. P. Gogate College Of Arts And Science & R. V. Jogalekar College Of Commerce, Ratnagiri
Sies (Nerul) College Of Arts, Science & Commerce, Nerul (Navi Mumbai)
Vivekanand Education Society’s Institute of Technology, Chembur (Mumbai)
Shri Pancham Khemraj Mahavidyalaya, Sawantwadi (Sindhudurg)
Usha Pravin Gandhi College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Vile Parle (Mumbai)
M. L. Dahanukar College of Commerce, Vile Parle (Mumbai)
Shah and Anchor Kutchhi Engineering College, Chembur (Mumbai)
Smt. Parmeshwaridevi Durgadutt Tibrewala Lions Juhu College of Arts, Commerce & Science, Andheri (Mumbai)
Lala Lajpat Rai College of Commerce & Economics, Mahalaxmi (Mumbai)
Royal College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mira Road (Thane)
Fr.C. Rodrigues Institute of Technology, Vashi (Navi Mumbai)
Sheth Nanjibhai Khimjibhai Thakkar Thanawala College of Commerce and Sheth Jayantilal Tribhovandas Thakkar Thanawala College of Arts, Thane
Fr. Conceicao Rodrigues College of Engineering, Bandra (Mumbai)
Vivek College of Commerce, Goregaon (Mumbai)
LS Raheja College Of Arts and Commerce, Santacruz (Mumbai)
