Teacher not happy with Govt Decisions on Giving Autonomous titles to colleges

6 October 2013
Kochi

The Higher Education Department’s decision to grant autonomous status to government and aided colleges in the State seems to have run into rough weather. Teaching and non-teaching staff, cutting across political affiliations in majority of the colleges that have applied for autonomy, are up in arms against the decision.

Twenty-six aided colleges had applied for autonomy when the last date for submitting applications expired on October 3.

Rajan Varghese, former Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University, said the State government order clearly stated that the government would no longer shoulder the financial liability for the new courses introduced in autonomous colleges.

“This is an incentive for managers to opt for autonomy. But this will definitely convert aided colleges into self-financing institutions in the near future. This possibility has drawn the biggest flak from teachers’ organisations,” Prof. Mr. Varghese told.

“Ironically, the expert committee constituted with the Education Minister as chairman for the implementation of the proposal is teeming with bureaucrats. The slot for the sole Vice-Chancellor is yet to be filled,” Prof. Varghese said.

Tommichan Joseph, State secretary of the Left-oriented All Kerala Private College Teachers’ Association (AKPCTA) and senate member of MG University, alleged that the government aimed at administrative and financial autonomy in the guise of academic autonomy.

The government proposal was not rigid, but was flexible and open to incorporate changes if warranted. “But we will not back out in the face of opposition. There is a tendency in our State to oppose anything new and it is because of that we are backward, especially in higher education,” Mr. Rabb said.

However, the government seems to have failed to convince even the Congress-oriented Kerala Private College Teachers Association (KPCTA) as the union gears up to stage a dharna in front of the secretariat demanding rollback of the government decision on autonomy.

Source– http://www.thehindu.com

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