Three Colleges from Kolhapur Under CPE Scheme

Three colleges from the division have bagged the Shivaji University Grants Commission's (UGC) coveted Colleges with Potential for Excellence (CPE) scheme. A UGC report dated April 21, stated that a total of 28 colleges were chosen from the state.

Representatives from these colleges made a presentation before a UGC committee in January last week. Under the scheme, the colleges will receive hefty grants of Rs 1.5 crore for their academic and administrative development. Altogether 253 colleges were shortlisted from across the country for the final presentation before the UGC panel. Of this number, 53 were from the state. Only 124 colleges from the country were chosen for the scheme inclusive of 28 from the state. From the Kolhapur division, eight colleges had sent in their proposals for the scheme. Of this, six were shortlisted and finally three were chosen.

The three colleges from the Kolhapur division-

1. Kamala College from Kolhapur,
2. Smt Kusumbai Rajarambapu Patil Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Islampur
3. Dhananjayrao Gadgil College of Commerce,Satara.

The institute has to ensure that it follows all UGC-set pre-requisites to be included in the scheme. The college should be ten years or more and should have secured a minimum grade 'B' from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

"Ours is the only college to be selected from Kolhapur. We worked hard for the achievement and are glad that it worked out this way.The UGC grants will pave the way for development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) classrooms, to increase the number of journals in the library, modernize the college infrastructure and renovate the present office"

- Dr.Kranti Kumar Patil, Principal, Kamala College.

About CPE

• The scheme was launched in the year 2004-05
• The scheme is motivated from UGC's earlier scheme for universities, which was called Universities with Potential for Excellence (UPE)
• The scheme tenure lasts for over a period of five years and is different for each college depending on their performance

Source - Prasad Patil, City Journalist, College Dekho