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Latest News |
| 23rd
July 2010 / Times of India / Mumbai Edition |
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No new degree colleges in Maharashtra this year
Mumbai: There will be no new arts, science and commerce degree colleges this academic year. Due to a dearth in quality teachers, the Maharashtra government has denied new colleges the permission to commence classes.
Rajesh Tope, the higher and technical education minister said that chief minister Ashok Chavan was of the opinion that allowing new colleges to open without trained faculty members would affect the quality of education. “The chief minister has therefore said that no fresh permission will be given to traditional colleges for now,’’ said Tope.
Traditional colleges are those institutes that teach humanities, science and commerce. Professional colleges focus on engineering, medicine, management, etc.
The higher and technical education department has received nearly 1,500 applications requesting government approval to start new colleges. Every year the department scrutinises the applications it receives and forwards eligible proposals to the chief minister’s office. Thereafter, in the meeting chaired by the CM a final decision is taken on how many new colleges should be given the goahead to open their doors.
“This year, however, the committee has not held the meeting because of the chief minister’s decision,’’ added Tope. It’s only after the CM’s meeting that the higher and technical education department initiates the procedure to shortlist eligible applicants. “Colleges are given permission once they meet certain criteria such as adequate infrastructure, trained staff, etc,’’ said an official from the department.
The government’s decision has not gone down well with many colleges in Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra. S K Somaiya College principal, Mukund Andhalkar, said that government policies such as low pay, compulsory Maharashtra State Eligibility Test for Lectureship (SET) and National Eligibility Test (NET) qualification as well as permission to recruit only 50% of the existing vacancies in the institute are the primary reasons for shortage of quality teaching staff.
“Instead of widening the network of institutes giving education, by taking such a decision the government is putting restrictions on the education system,’’ said Andhalkar.
Despite no permission for new colleges, the government, however, is confident of ensuring that all students will get a set in the near future. “Colleges that wanted to start additional divisions have been given permission to go ahead with their respective plans,’’ said Tope.
Last year the state had granted permission to 200 new colleges of which over 40 were affiliated to the University of Mumbai. There are over 600 colleges affiliated to the University of Mumbai.
Student: Seat Ratio
On an average, over 8 lakh students successfully clear the Class XII HSC exam. Of these, nearly 50% seek admission in arts, commerce and science streams, while the rest secure seats in professional courses like medical studies, engineering, MBA. etc
There are nearly 3,000 traditional colleges affiliated to 13 universities across Maharashtra
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