If having 650 colleges and 6.5 lakh students was not enough trouble
for the University of Mumbai, the management council has gone ahead
and given its nod to 30 colleges for affiliation and allowed
introduction of a host of new courses to existing colleges.
According to a management council member, who did not give his consent
to the proposal of granting additional affiliations, University
officials seemed to be in a hurry to give approval to the maximum
number of colleges that had been mentioned in the perspective plan.
“While it’s a known fact that the University is incapable of handling
the existing 650 colleges, officials have gone ahead and given
approval for 30-odd colleges, claiming that it is part of the
government rules and order,” said Dilip Karande, management council
member.
Enumerating the government rules and order regarding granting
affiliation to new institutions, a University official said, “The
University is bound to provide affiliation to institutions in rural
areas that do not have any higher and technical institutions, so that
students belonging to tribal and backward classes get an opportunity
to receive the same close to their homes.”
Justifying the decision to grant affiliations to more institutions, Dr
Naresh Chandra, pro-vice-chancellor, MU said, “The University is only
abiding by the government order and has no say in the matter. However,
we have suggested certain steps that need to be taken in order to
ensure that problems do not crop up. We are awaiting a response from
the government,” said Dr Chandra.
The suggestions include increasing the number of staff in various
departments of the University.