Two state colleges granted provisional autonomy

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, May 29, 2007
Close on the heels of St Xavier’s College, two more colleges from the state, Ramkrishna Mission Residential College and Belur Shikkhon Mondir B.Ed College have been granted provisional autonomy on Tuesday.
The state government has given the go-ahead to these two institutions and asked the syndicate of Calcutta University (CU) to pass the proposal. Autonomy will enable the colleges to frame its own syllabus and conduct the exams. This will include, setting the question papers and evaluating the answer scripts without any university interference.
“The colleges will now have to apply to UGC by May 31. After which there will be an inspection from the university followed by one by the UGC, to check infrastructure and capability of the institutions. The report will be submitted to the executive council of the UGC, which will in turn, decide upon whether the colleges deserve the tag. The whole process will take about two months time,” said Samir Bandhyopadhyay, registrar of the university.
However, Presidency College, which had also been shortlisted, will have to wait for some more time. “The high powered committee formed by the state government to decide upon the mode of governance is yet to submit its report. Necessary steps will be taken, once the report is submitted,” said Haren Bhattacharya, general secretary of Government College Teachers Association and a teacher at Presidency College.
RMRC is planning many changes after it is granted autonomy, but it will take place slowly. “To begin with, we would like to stick to the syllabus and exam pattern of CU. In future, we will see whether the semester system will suit us or not,” said the principal of the college Swami Suparnananda.
The college, which was established in 1960, currently has 650 students, and offers courses including, physics, chemistry, maths, statistics, computer science, economics and English at the undergraduate level. Physics and chemistry are also available for PG students.
“By setting up our own exam routine, we will be able to ensure speedy results, making our students eligible for admission in various universities and they can sit for the all-India level competitive exams,” said the vice principal Swami Puratanananda.
Belur Shikkhon Mondir B.Ed College, on the other hand, is ready to implement the semester system after it gets autonomy. Speaking about the matter, principal Ramendra Maharaj, said, “It will be one of the first items on our agenda and our board of studies will also revise and update the syllabus.”
Following autonomy, the colleges would be granted Rs 6 lakh per year by UGC for the next 6 years. After the term, CU and UGC would review the progress made by the institutions. Following a satisfactory report, they will be granted permanent autonomy.
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