COIMBATORE: Academicians have welcomed the University Grants Commission (UGC) move to grant autonomy to colleges that get ‘A’ grade from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) for three consecutive terms. “This is a welcome step as 90 per cent of autonomous colleges are doing better than affiliated colleges,” says SP Thyagarajan, former vice-chancellor, University of Madras.
“A few years ago, a UGC panel on affiliation reforms discussed the need to reduce load on universities because of affiliated colleges. In some cases 900-1000 colleges were affiliated to a university, which was unable to focus on syllabus revision, and reforms in teaching and learning,” he said. The panel made suggestions such as bifurcating or trifurcating universities. It suggested giving autonomy to deserving colleges, which had been running for over 10 years.
“There has to be varsity-level inspection. Then a UGC panel should conduct inspection. In the NAAC accreditation process, if a college gets ‘A’ grade in two cycles and reaccredited with ‘A’ grade, then it proves quality,” he said.