UGC proposes new regulations for granting autonomy to colleges

Hyderabad: Moving towards granting greater autonomy to colleges, the University Grants Commission (UGC) is all set to notify new guidelines.

Accordingly, the new University Grants Commission (Conferment of Autonomous Status Upon Colleges and Measures for Maintenance of Standards in Autonomous Colleges) Regulations, 2022 proposes several changes to the existing regulations.

Currently, the UGC is granting autonomous status for ten years initially and with an extension of five more years. In both cases, the UGC standing committee takes a decision based on a report submitted by an expert committee visiting and inspecting the college campus seeking autonomy. The colleges have to submit their applications in a UGC-prescribed format to the parent university to which it is affiliated. In turn, the university has to forward the applications with its recommendations to the UGC, within 30 days of the receipt of such application seeking autonomous status.

However, the new regulations propose granting autonomous status to colleges for an initial period of ten years and extending for ten more years. The change proposed is that colleges will have to submit applications online anytime in a year. A UGC standing committee will review them and issue letters granting and rejecting the autonomy to a college.

That apart, a college that functions for 15 years with autonomous status would be considered for grant of autonomous status permanently. However, "such permanent autonomous college is required to maintain the grade of NAAC/NBA, as per the eligibility condition for autonomy and inform the same to the parent university," as per the new regulations.

However, the changed regulations provide that if the university fails to respond to the application submitted by the college on the UGC portal, then, it is presumed that the university has no objection and the UGC processes the application for considering granting the autonomous status.

Further, the proposed regulations allow that "an autonomous college can merge with another autonomous college(s)/institution(s) run by the same parent body of the autonomous colleges, with the prior approval of the parent university/universities."

Currently, granting an extension and withdrawal of the autonomous status of a college is based on the campus inspection of a UGC expert committee.

However, the proposed regulations provide for an automatic granting and withdrawal of the autonomous status based on the college having NAAC, with a minimum 'A' grade or NBA accreditation for at least three programmes with a minimum score of 675. Where the autonomy has been withdrawn, the college cannot conduct admissions under autonomy mode after the withdrawal of autonomous status.

The new regulations also do away with the current norm of the nomination of a UGC nominee in the government body of autonomous colleges and a university nominee in the finance committee of the autonomous colleges.