Autonomy not free rein: UGC

Hyderabad: Although the UGC granted autonomy to 35 higher educational institutions in March, including UoH and Osmania University in the state, it does not mean that they have a free rein and no responsibilities.

All universities are expected to make a presentation with regard to their five year plan so that the UGC can ensure that no fee hikes or other student unfriendly measures are adopted.

The universities have been allowed and are expected to launch new courses and departments, enter into MoUs with foreign educational institutes and ensure that skill development programmes are initiated.

Twenty per cent of their faculty strength will also be allowed to be global talent.

A senior official from UoH said, “We have already begun conducting meetings to discuss how the changes will be implemented. After having been granted autonomy, we have asked students for their opinion regarding improvements in courses and new courses they will be interested in.”

“Our five year plan will be a broad plan with new short term courses that will be implemented. We already have foreign languages that students can take every semester. We will create more similar courses,” he said.

Online courses were also sanctioned by the UGC while granting autonomy and all higher educational institutions have been asked to implement them. Online courses are encouraged as they create a web between different universities and students get exposed to various subjects and methods of teaching.

OU Vice-Chancellor S. Ramachandram said, “We are extremely happy that we have been chosen for autonomy during our centenary celebrations. We want to introduce a soft skills course for students to help improve their presentation skills and business etiquette. All decisions will be taken after careful consultation with stakeholders, including professors, as the introduction of new departments will require more man power.”

The current plan is limited to the 35 universities granted autonomy in March. However, the same approach will be followed in other autonomous institutions as well after the success of this implementation. The step has been implemented to ensure quality of education in these institutions.