In the latest move to reduce academic stress and workload, the ministry of human resource and development (HRD) has suggested to restrict the number of colleges any university can associate with.
The committee of New Education Policy (NEP) chaired by TSR Subramanium suggested new norms that says no university shall now be eligible to affiliate more than 100 colleges. The existing universities with affiliation of more than 100 colleges will be reconstructed.
Most of the academicians across the nation feel that the large number of associated colleges to any particular university are affecting the teaching standards and quality output. Presently, Indian universities across the nation affiliate 300-1000 colleges, as per their institutional set-up.
The University of Mumbai has about 740 colleges under it, whereas Jawaharlal Nehru University, Aligarh Muslim University and University of Hyderabad have also shown up with large number of affiliated colleges.
The suggestion to put a cap on number of colleges is part of the wide range of policies delivered in the draft New Education Policy (NEP) released by the MHRD, which is open for reviews and suggestions till July 31.
The NEP draft 2016 also outlined various concerns of the Indian universities, such as, Prevention of outsiders and those who have ceased to be students from playing an active role in student politics, Blocking of outsider students from entering campuses and hostels, Keeping a check on students making use of facilities in campus beyond their period of enrollment, Encouraging student unions on campus to indulge in 'furthering the interests of democracy'.
The draft includes implementations for assessment of teachers' academic performance, Introduction to disciplinary courses and collaboration with foreign universities, involvement of industry experts and alumni on the governing bodies of higher education institutes.
