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lines UGC has awarded academic
(and financial) autonomy to 747 (of
39,931 countrywide) colleges in the
new millennium.
However, with typical bureaucrat-
ic muddling, autonomy is arbitrarily
denied to some of the country’s most
respected colleges. Curiously, several
Delhi-based colleges which routinely
top the annual college rankings of
India Today, Outlook and several
other print periodicals, including
EducationWorld, are not yet autono-
mous. Among them: St. Stephen’s,
Shri Ram College of Commerce, Lady
Shri Ram College for Women, Hindu
College, Miranda House and Sri Ven-
kateswara College — all in Delhi. Dr. Narain: commercialisation fear Prof. Varghese: communication lockdown
These highly reputed colleges
which routinely set sky-high cut-off thrown a big spanner in the works to has full freedom to select and ap-
percentages in the 90s because of the deny autonomous status for India’s point faculty and reserve 50 percent
overwhelming demand for admission most admired undergrad college. capacity for students of the Christian
from higher secondary school/junior An India Today report (May 23, community. We are also exempt
college leavers every year, are sepa- 2018), says DUTA obtained a legal from reserving quotas for scheduled
rately ranked in EducationWorld’s opinion to the effect that the Delhi caste and tribe students though we
2020-21 league table of India’s most University Act, 1922, needs to be do so on a voluntary basis. More-
admired 100 non-autonomous col- amended by Parliament before UGC over, under the federal structure of
leges. can confer autonomy to St. Stephen’s Delhi University, colleges are deeply
Last year when the Top 100 un- or any other college affiliated with involved in framing the univer-
dergrad arts, science and commerce Delhi University. This opinion has sity’s syllabuses and curriculums
colleges including private autono- reportedly spooked UGC and the prescribed for constituent colleges.
mous government autonomous and issue of autonomy to St. Stephen’s, Therefore, the promise of greater
non-autonomous were ranked inter SRCC, Lady Shri Ram etc has been academic freedom to frame our own
se, St. Stephen’s, SRCC, Lady Shri put on the back-burner, even as less syllabuses and introduce new courses
Ram were ranked first, second and reputed colleges affiliated with other is not a great attraction. We prefer
third and Miranda House #5. In universities have been awarded this the status quo because our faculty
the circumstances, it’s a mystery coveted status. and students are strongly opposed to
why they have not been conferred Within St. Stephen’s while the autonomous status which is a ruse to
autonomy and continue to be tied to college management wants autono- award financial autonomy — the first
the apron strings of Delhi University mous status, the faculty is reportedly step towards commercialisation and
which has 90 affiliated colleges, even against accepting this honour on the privatisation of this vintage college
as 747 less acclaimed colleges are ground that conferment of autonomy which will become unaffordable to
enjoying academic (and financial) also results in financial autonomy students from low-income house-
autonomy. which will inevitably lead to the holds,” says Dr. Nandita Narain,
According to informed academ- dreaded commercialisation and pri- professor of mathematics at St. Ste-
ics in the national capital, while the vatisation of higher education. phen’s (her alma mater) and former
St. Stephen’s management applied “Unlike the situation in other president of DUTA (2013-17) as also
for autonomous status way back in parts of the country where best- of the Central Universities Teachers
2017 and the UGC was in favour of performing colleges are anxious Association (2015-17).
awarding it this status, the college’s to acquire academic freedom from This viewpoint is clearly at odds
students and particularly faculty affiliating universities, constituent with that of St. Stephen’s manage-
banded under the Delhi University colleges of Delhi University already ment which wants the autonomous
Teachers Association (DUTA) domi- have considerable academic and ad- status to revise DU’s standardised
nated by Left ideologues hell-bent ministrative freedom. For instance, syllabuses and curricula and in-
on maintaining the status quo, have in St. Stephen’s, the management troduce innovative new study

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