Andhra University to go for school model

Visakhapatnam: Andhra University is all set to phase out the department model to give way for the much-touted “School Model”- an initiative adopted by various prestigious institutions of the world, including India. In many ways, the proposed new ‘school model’ is as much about rebranding the departments as finding ways to make the varsity more efficient. Under this relatively new system, various departments would come under one roof and one director would be appointed for each school, bringing an end to the concept of ‘principals.’ The 70 departments and centres would be merged into 14 schools. This move is expected to cut down administrative delays as well as improve NAAC grading as it is one of the parameters for NAAC grading.

Andhra University Vice-Chancellor, Prof. G. Nageswara Rao explained that the mathematics and allied science departments such as physics, chemistry, etc. would be merged into one school. “On the same lines, several departments of humanities and social sciences and College of Arts and Commerce would form the School of Social Sciences. With changing technological needs of the students, Andhra University has been set on a transition trajectory, both academically and infrastructurally,” added Prof. Nageswara Rao.

“The school concept surfaced about a decade ago and even the executive committee of the varsity had approved the proposal. The ‘school model’ has both academic as well as administrative advantages. Besides doing away with the red tape in the decision-making process and giving a free hand to the respective heads of each school, it would also help attain better NAAC grading as it’s one of the parameters for awarding grades for a university,” said Prof. Nageswara Rao. He told the lecturers to teach the pupils about the significance of punctuality and sincerity in their life to excel in their career.