Mumbai: All 11 non-agricultural universities in the State will be governed by a uniform set of regulations, with The Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016 finally coming into force on Wednesday. A notice to this effect was issued by the Higher and Technical Education Department.
The Act, passed in December 2016 by the Legislative Assembly, introduces uniform regulations for non-agricultural universities for the first time in the State. “If implemented in the spirit of the Act, it would be a landmark law that could lead to the overhaul of the higher education system across the country,” Siddharth Kharat, Joint Secretary, Higher and Technical Education Department, said.
He added, “17-odd new boards would have to be set up before September 2017 and students will get to see changes in the forthcoming academic year. An orientation programme for all officials will be held on March 3 at Sahyadri Guest House on implementing the new system.”
Choice-based credit system
By September, universities across the State would have to fill posts in bodies like the senate, management councils, academic councils with teachers and academicians as per the new rules. The Act envisages a dean for each faculty in the university, and exam results will have to be declared within 45 days of the last paper.
Universities will also have to allow a choice based credit system with transferable credit points from four streams: academic, technical, professional and social, personality and cultural development. For evaluation, modules taken by students will have to be assessed immediately upon completion as a part of continuous assessment, or at the end of a semester. This aims to put in place a policy for mobility of students among various State universities, and flexibility to choose course modules from different faculties in their university or other ones. The new system also envisages setting up of a system to facilitate mobility of students from formal to non-formal stream and vice versa, across universities in the State and outside.
A Board of University Departments and Interdisciplinary Studies will also be set up to promote interdisciplinary education and research on campus. This will facilitate networking with national and international institutions for exchange of ideas between several disciplines. It will also evolve a mechanism to assist foreign and out-of-State students, encourage use of technology in classroom teaching, initiate new approaches and methodology for assessing learning as a continuous online process.
Universities will now have to help facilitate teachers’ mobility to collaborate with industries, research and development laboratories and NGOs engaged in social development and enable transfer of knowledge to viable real-life applications. They will also be allowed to establish centres or institutions abroad with Central and State government permission.
More politically active
The new framework also makes universities more politically active. Apart from re-introducing student elections in campuses, teachers or non-teaching staff would no more be disqualified if elected to the Parliament, Legislative Council and Assembly. Such elected representatives would be considered to be on leave without salary or allowances during their tenures, but dues like increments, seniority and pensions will continue.
A Board of Innovation, Incubation and Enterprise would also be set up for creation and cultivation of an enabling environment to propagate the concept of innovation and to turn innovative ideas into working models through a process of incubation which shall finally lead to establish a system to guide young entrepreneurs and even help them with operational, legal, business model creation and financial support. It also envisages a Board of Lifelong Learning and Extension for skill development programmes.
As per the Act, the education system will now have to create and disseminate knowledge and foster high quality globally contemporary and competitive research competitive that would be nationally relevant. It also aims to have a learner-centric approach. The Act is based on recommendations made by committees led by Drs. Anil Kakodkar, Arun Nigvekar, Ram Takawle and others.
