Autonomous colleges - dual views surface at conference

Autonomous colleges - dual views surface at conference

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Nov 21, 2015 : The conference on ‘Autonomous colleges, issues, prospects and challenges’ was organised by the college development council at the MU - Mangaluru  university.  Divergent views were expressed at the inauguration of the conference on autonomy for colleges, at Mangalore University on Nov 20.

The former Vice-Chancellor of the erstwhile Manipal Academy of Higher Education (now Manipal University) B.M. Hegde, who inaugurated the conference, suggested that the universities granting autonomy and colleges seeking autonomy should rethink on it as there were many issues related to autonomy. According to Prof Hegde, autonomy given to Visva Bharati University, Santinikean, Kolkata, was a success.

Referring to colleges seeking autonomy, he said, “Don’t think you can do anything and get away with it.” Autonomy had a lot of problems, he said.  Prof Hegde took objection to some teachers teaching actively in tutorials. Teachers should promote healthy mind, he said. Education should look for wisdom which was different from knowledge.

C. Thangamuthu, former Vice-Chancellor, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirapalli, said that colleges should not be under any universities. They should be independent. They should have the freedom to frame their own syllabi and award degrees.

He said that if all colleges were given autonomy, the universities could concentrate on imparting quality education by their postgraduate departments. M.V. Krishnaswamy, adviser, Mangalore University, and former Joint Secretary and Head, National Eligibility Test, and Selection and Award Bureau, University Grants Commission spoke.

K Byrappa, Vice-Chancellor, Mangalore University said that the UGC wanted to encourage more colleges to go for autonomy. The two-day conference will conclude on Nov 21 Saturday.