Cut funding to uni-disciplinary universities, says VC

Updated on: Thursday, January 19, 2012

University of Kerala Vice Chancellor A. Jayakrishnan has suggested that the Centre should cut funding to uni-disciplinary universities. In the first instance, States should not be allowed to institute such varsities, he has said.

These suggestions have been made by Dr. Jayakrishnan in a note submitted recently to the committee for university reforms of the Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE). The Vice-Chancellor is a member of the committee.

Colleges in the government and aided sectors that have been functioning for more than 25 years and having an ‘A' rating from the NAAC should be given autonomy. Institutions with a standing of more than 50 years and having an ‘A' rating should be given the right to confer degrees.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) document for the 12th Plan stipulates that no university shall have more than 50 affiliated colleges and more than 50,000 students. Funding restrictions should be imposed on universities that cross this limit.

A “critical mass” of teachers should be ensured in university departments; there should be at least 10 teachers in each department. Accreditation should not be limited to colleges and universities but should be extended to individual departments and to individual programmes. Funding should be contingent on a good rating. A one-time grant of Rs.100 crore should be given to all the 289 State universities in the country to allow them to augment academic and infrastructural facilities.

Universities in the public sector should be prompted to start innovative, multi-disciplinary, demand-driven courses. “The possibility of public-private partnership or industry incubation can be seriously explored,” the note reads.

Dr. Jayakrishnan has also called for an end to the practise of the university shouldering the entire burden of conducting examinations. “Universities shall set the question papers, teachers from outside a college shall do the invigilation. However, the evaluation of the answer-sheets should be done by the very teacher who teaches that course. To check malpractices, the university can randomly evaluate 10 to 15 per cent of the answer scripts,” it says.

The appointment of teachers in aided colleges should not be the exclusive right of the management concerned. The Public Service Commission (PSC) should constitute a pool of qualified teachers from which managements can take their pick.

A model curriculum should be in place for all courses. This would encourage inter-university mobility of students and would eliminate the need for such things as eligibility certificates.

The existing governance structure of universities is “archaic and moribund,” the note says. The Centre should constitute a committee to frame a model act and statutes to be adopted by all universities in the country.

Cut funding to uni-disciplinary universities, says VC

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