Autonomy in Colleges

The UGC (University Grants Commission) has decided to give autonomous status to seven aided colleges in the state which includes St. Thomas College, Thrissur, Fatima Mata College, Kollam, Mar Ivanios College, Trivandrum, Sacred Hearts College, Thevara, St. Berchman’s College, Changanassery, St. Teresa’s College, Ernakulam and Rajagiri College of Social Science, Klamassery. These colleges will have the right to implement their own courses and syllabus, appoint teachers and fix admission criteria. They can conduct examinations and declare the results but the degree certificate will be issued from the respective university. This decision of making these colleges autonomous would create many difficulties among the students. The equality of the students will be at stake.

Such an institution with an autonomous power will have an impact on the present system of admission on the basis of merit system. It results in the commercialization of education and the concerned management can have financial autonomy in everything. In such institutions, a new syllabus will be implemented only when the faculty members feel like. With past experiences from autonomous colleges in India, it is clear that religious, caste and financial considerations have a major role in the appointment of their faculties. The problem will not end here. According to UGC guidelines, members to various committees have to be nominated by both the state government and the UGC. But if it is made autonomous, the management gets power to nominate the members. There will not be any system or body to monitor the claims and assurances given by college to students and they will have to suffer under the provided system. Students learn different syllabi under the same university and so the merits of the students differ from each other. This in turn creates inequality among the students. Such colleges may have good infrastructure and accreditation from ‘NAAC’ but no one can predict how far such a system would show a flexible progress in educational field.

Every time the government brings new rules and regulations like this, it is the students who suffer. Extending autonomy to these colleges would only lead to further deterioration of the system. Autonomy is not the answer to the decay in the university system. Ultimately, the government is going to lose control over the institutions to which autonomy is granted and the sufferers are none other than the students and parents.