UDF govt’s move to ease norms for self-financing courses, seat expansion in autonomous colleges sparks row in Keralam

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The United Democratic Front (UDF) government’s decision to relax the requirement for prior government approval for introducing new self-financing courses and increasing seats in autonomous colleges has triggered a political controversy in Keralam.

The Opposition has accused the government of facilitating the commercialisation of higher education, while the government defended the move as a measure to promote academic autonomy and eliminate bureaucratic delays.

The controversy centres on a revised circular issued by the Higher Education Department on November 6, which withdrew the instructions contained in a previous circular issued on September 11 and introduced a revised system for obtaining No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for new courses and seat increases in colleges affiliated to State-run universities.

The initial circular had stipulated that government approval was mandatory for starting new courses and increasing seats in government and aided colleges, including autonomous aided colleges. It also prescribed a system under which self-financing colleges had to renew their government NOCs annually.

However, the latest circular retains the three-year NOC renewal requirement for self-financing colleges, while introducing important relaxations for autonomous institutions. Under the revised provisions, autonomous colleges can introduce new courses under the self-financing stream without obtaining a government NOC.

Autonomous aided colleges can also introduce new courses under the unaided or self-financing stream without a government NOC. The circular also exempts such institutions from obtaining a government NOC for permanent increases in seats in existing courses.

Nonetheless, the circular retains the requirement of government approval for new aided courses and permanent increases in seats under the aided stream in government, aided and autonomous aided colleges. It also provides that the introduction of new courses and seat increases in unaided/self-financing colleges will be subject to the applicable university or regulatory authority’s approval.

Higher Education Minister Roji M. John defended the decision as a crucial step towards strengthening academic autonomy and modernising the State’s higher education system. He said autonomous colleges were institutions that had earned recognition through evaluation of their academic performance and institutional standards. Moreover, requiring them to obtain approval from both the affiliating university and the government prior to introducing a new self-financing course defeated the principle of academic autonomy.

According to him, the relaxation applied to academic autonomy and did not confer financial autonomy on colleges. Nor did it alter the existing merit and reservation arrangements. Besides, 50% of the seats in the relevant self-financing programmes would continue to be merit seats, with reservation principles applicable to them, he said.

He also maintained that government approval would continue to be necessary for programmes involving financial liability for the State. The government was also considering restructuring existing courses, including aided programmes, to make them more relevant to contemporary requirements.

Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan alleged the decision would enable private managements to introduce self-financing courses and increase seats without adequate scrutiny of infrastructure, academic requirements and regulatory compliance.

Questioning the timing of the decision, he asked why the government had announced substantial concessions immediately after representatives of college managements met the Higher Education Minister.

The Students Federation of India (SFI) has strongly opposed the decision and commenced protests in various parts of Keralam. The CPI(M)-feeder alleged that the move would open the higher education sector to commercial interests.

SFI State secretary P.S. Sanjeev alleged that the government has failed to extend comparable opportunities to government and aided colleges, despite its stated objective of transforming Keralam into an education hub by strengthening public institutions and introducing courses that would attract more students.

Accusing the SFI of opposing education reforms for political reasons, the Kerala Students Union (KSU) has defended the government’s decision.

According to KSU State president Aloshious Xavier, the sector faced serious challenges during the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s rule due to the alleged lack of progressive policy decisions and failure to adapt to changing academic and employment requirements. The scenario has contributed to the migration of large numbers of students to other States and foreign countries.