Page 68 - EW may 2026

Cover Story
INDIA’S TOP-RANKED

NON-AUTONOMOUS ASC COLLEGES

Even though autonomous colleges are widely perceived as percent of the education budgets of
the best and first choice of school-leavers signing up for the Central and state governments at
the expense of public primary-sec-
undergrad Arts, Science & Commerce courses, some non- ondary education which is bedeviled
autonomous colleges which teach beyond the prescribed with crumbling classrooms, inad-
curriculum and have a tradition of high-quality co-curricular equate and ill-trained teachers and
almost total deficit of labs, librar-
and extra-curricular education, are highly venerated ies and lavatories. School students
routinely promoted upward through
the 1 million-strong government
school system are deprived of strong
foundations to avail the full benefit of
higher education. Unsurprisingly, as
reported by the State of Working In-
dia 2026 of Azim Premji University,
Bangalore, 40 percent of graduates of
India’s HEIs are unemployed for 12
months or more.
Control and command of HEIs has
resulted in the vast majority of ASC
undergraduate colleges countrywide
being classified as ‘non-autonomous’.
Even though autonomous colleges
are widely perceived to be the best
and first choice of school-leavers
signing up for ASC courses, under
the country’s complex higher educa-
tion system some non-autonomous
Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi: India #1 after long wait colleges — which despite being tied
to the apron-strings of their affiliat-
nder the control-and UGC has awarded a small number ing universities teach beyond the
command socialist eco- of them (1,788) autonomous status, prescribed curriculum and have a
nomic development model i.e, they can set their own syllabi and tradition of high-quality co-curricular
Uill-advisedly adopted administration systems, although the and extra-curricular education — are
by newly independent India after tuition fees they prescribe are gov- highly venerated. Indeed, the ‘cut-
1947, higher education was — and erned by state governments because offs’ demanded by some non-auton-
remains — strictly controlled by they pay faculty and staff salaries. omous ASC colleges affiliated with
the Central government operating This is to ensure that in line with Delhi University (St. Sephen’s, Shri
through its agencies — the University socialist ideology, tuition fees are af- Ram College of Commerce among
Grants Commission (UGC) which fordable. Indeed, they are too afford- others) are higher than of top-ranked
governs Arts, Science and Commerce able contributing a mere 5 percent autonomous ASC colleges. Like I
(ASC) higher education institutions of annual institutional expenditure said, it’s a complex higher education
(HEIs), and the All India Council for as against the global average of 20 system.
Technical Education (AICTE) which percent. In this year’s EW league table of
regulates engineering and technology This has resulted in the mas- India’s most respected non-autono-
HEIs. sification of higher education with mous ASC colleges, the perennially
As a concession to well reputed government subsidies for higher edu- second ranked Shri Ram College
ASC higher education institutions, cation normatively consuming 30-35 of Commerce, Delhi (SRCC)

68 EDUCATIONWORLD MAY 2026