Academic autonomy for 3 private engineering colleges in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: University Grants Commission (UGC), with the concurrence of state government, decided to grant autonomous status to three private engineering colleges in the state.
The colleges — Saintgits College of Engineering, Kottayam, Rajagiri School of Engineering, Kochi and Mar Baselios College of Engineering and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram— have managed to claim autonomous status, braving several odds. Though political dogma had been stifling LDF government from agreeing to the demand for academic autonomy for private engineering colleges, it was forced to support it since UGC’s revised guidelines has almost silenced state governments in matters such as autonomy.
The colleges, , all run by Christian managements, had approached UGC shortly after it announced the 2018 regulations without the backing of the state government or the technological university they are affiliated to. But the 2018 UGC regulations emphatically clarified that no institutions, if they satisfy the quality criteria, can be denied academic autonomy even if it meant UGC bestowing the same to such institutions without the endorsement of the states concerned.
According to UGC guidelines, engineering colleges having NAAC accreditation with A grade can seek academic autonomy, provided they also have NBA accreditation with score above 675 for at least three engineering departments. In case the government and university refuse to nominate representatives in the five-member inspection team in which there would be UGC nominees, or fail to raise, within in one month, specific objections against granting autonomy to higher education institutions after expert assessment, the consent would be deemed as given.
Eventually, with little options left, the state higher education department had deigned to nominate a government representative to the committee early this year after an expert committee set by the government too had recommended against making any fuss over the academic autonomy.
Following the UGC decision, which the state government was informed on July 15, 2020, the state higher education department has asked APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University to take further steps for preparing a framework that would give autonomous institutions the powers guaranteed by UGC.
According to sources, more than half a dozen engineering colleges in the state are currently eligible to seek academic autonomy and several among them were about to approach UGC. However, certain government engineering colleges, though eligible for academic autonomy are said to have expressed no interest in pursuing academic autonomy.