Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The University Grants Commission (UGC) has come up with its draft regulations for granting autonomous status to colleges which is in tune with recommendations made in National Education Policy (NEP)-2020.
The UGC (Conferment of Autonomous Status upon Colleges and Measures for Maintenance of Standards in Autonomous Colleges) Regulations, 2022, will replace the 2018 regulations.
A standing committee of UGC will scrutinize data furnished by the college and take a call on it but an onsite visit of the committee is required.
Colleges can now apply directly to UGC through its portal and the affiliating university has to submit its report (for or against) in online mode within a month.
If the university fails to do so, it shall be presumed that the university has no objection to the processing of the application by the UGC for the conferment of autonomous status.
Earlier, the colleges had to apply to the university first and then the university used to forward the proposal creating a lot of delays.
All colleges having Grade A accreditation with CGPA 3.01 or above or technical colleges with 3 NBA accredited programmes, with a minimum score of 675, are now eligible for getting autonomous status.
Autonomy will be granted for 10 years initially. Colleges which have functioned as autonomous colleges for 15 years continuously will be considered autonomous colleges on a permanent basis.
“The intent behind providing autonomy is to enable colleges to choose and design curriculum and evaluation on their own which essentially is what NEP aims at. Plus, NEP stipulates that every college should develop into either an autonomous college or a constituent college of a university over a period of time” said Prof Abhay Kumar, head, School of Electronics at DAVV. The commission on Tuesday made the draft public and invited suggestions and objections from stakeholders.
