The University Grants Commission (UGC) has extended the autonomous status of Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, till the academic year 2029-30.
The renewal of autonomous status is valid from the academic year 2020-21. The Commission meeting held on January 28 approved the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Autonomous College to confer autonomous status on the college affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University for a period of 10 years from 2020-21 to 2029-30, including ex-post facto condonation of the gap period (2020-24), according to the letter issued by the UGC to the Registrar of the Mahatma Gandhi University on February 24.
The college was elevated to the status of of an autonomous college in the academic year 2014-15, and it was valid upto 2019-20. The Save University Campaign Committee (SUCC), which had filed a Right to Information Act before the UGC, had alleged that the autonomous status accorded to the college had expired in 2020.
The college authorities had denied the allegations saying that the application for renewal of autonomy was submitted to the affiliating Mahatma Gandhi University after a visit by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council in 2021. They had said that the college had to apply for renewal of autonomous status to the affiliating university.
In a social media post on the extension of the autonomous status till 2029-30, Minister for Higher Education R. Bindu said that the college was moving ahead with the implementation of various development projects. Some of the works included new academic block (₹10 crore), library building (₹9 crore), auditorium and Chemistry seminar hall (₹15 crore), she said.
Published - February 25, 2025 07:26 pm IST
