St. Stephen's to File Fresh Application Seeking Autonomy as per New UGC Guidelines

Leading college of the capital city, St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi will soon be able to bag its autonomy status as University Grants Commission (UGC) has now come up with some new guidelines for institutes seeking autonomy.

The only requirement that St. Stephen's will have to fulfill is that it will have to file a fresh new application in accordance with the revised format declared by the UGC. The principal of the college, John Varghese confirmed the news about the same.

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UGC is further expected to convene a meeting with all the college principals across the country to explain them the revised guidelines for autonomy status. It will also try to dispel the misconceptions with regards to autonomy that have been doing the rounds for a long time. The officials of the UGC will also provide a detailed description of the scheme and its benefits along with the monetary concerns of the colleges looking forward to seeking autonomy. It will clarify to the college managements that cut in the finances will not be a part of the scheme as planned by the UGC. The nodal higher education regulator of the country is all game to provide institutes the freedom to conduct its operations without its interference. It is of the opinion that this step will only enable them to perform better.

Also Read: St. Stephen’s Reserves 3 Seats for Children of Martyrs

New UGC Rules and Guidelines for Autonomous Colleges:

• Colleges will have the authority to design and determine its own courses and curriculum and to further restructure it as per the needs of the students and industry. The course structure will be such that it suits the job requirements and is well oriented to the skills in demand.
• An autonomous institute will have the authority to prescribe its admission guidelines including the matters relating to reservation policies.
• The method of a student's evaluation and performance will also be determined by the institute itself. Examinations, the launch of new courses etc. will be in the hands of the institute itself.
• The parent varsity will be required to ensure a reference on all the degrees, certificates and diplomas that are issued by the institute to the students. Additionally, autonomous institutes will also have the authority to provide and issue its own migration certificates.
• Going forward, the college seeking autonomy will have to draft a fresh application and proposal seeking autonomy and submit it to its parent university (DU in this case). If approved by the parent university, it will be forwarded to the UGC in a span of about 30 days. However, if the parent university rejects the proposal, it will have to communicate its decision to the concerned college as well as UGC. In case no decision is taken within 30 days, UGC will assume approval of the proposal and the concerned college will forward a copy of the proposal to the UGC.

St. Stephen's autonomy application was earlier filed the autonomy application on 25th March 2017 despite the fact it received opposition from the faculty members as well as the students. They were unhappy that the college management had not held consultations with them before taking the decision.

With inputs from Hindustan Times