More students opting for open universities a good sign: Maharashtra minister

“It is good if more students are opting for open universities as this would not lead to student ‘overcrowding’ at traditional universities. This will, in turn, help impart better-quality education with improved assessment schemes. Besides, the student-to-teacher ratio would be much better. However, the state-run universities must study this migration trend and find out if it has any links to the quality of education at state universities,” said Tawde.

He was addressing a gathering of management council members of all state universities, hosted at Savitribai Phule Pune University on Friday.

The education minister also urged all university officials to introspect on the quality of education and types of courses offered at the respective universities.

“There are many colleges now that were formerly affiliated to state universities, which have turned autonomous. Similarly, several colleges have come together to form cluster universities. The management council and the university administration must work hand-in-hand to not only improve the functioning of the university but also to ensure that the best minds are attracted to state universities,” added Tawde.

The minister also encouraged the management council members to work towards implementing the Maharashtra Universities Act 2016, under which several new administrative positions, including those of deans, would be constituted.

“As per the new law, at least 17 statutes will bring uniform rules for operation and functions of all state universities. The management council members must use these laws as effective tools to improve the overall operation of every university and highlight all issues in a constructive manner,” the minister suggested.

Speaking on the occasion, SPPU Vice-Chancellor Nitin Karmalkar said the newly proposed National Education Policy (NEP) could make the overall functioning of universities easier.

“It is commonly observed that universities are forced to dedicate a lot of their time in conducting examinations and declaring results. Due to this, it is not possible to devote enough time towards other equally important aspects needed towards offering better-quality education and other academic benefits to students. With the NEP proposing to reduce the overall number of institutions, we are hopeful about being able to manage our tasks better,” said Karmalkar.

The SPPU V-C also admitted that the university was unable to implement the credit-based system for postgraduate students in colleges under its affiliation. The NEP is promoting a liberal learning scheme, wherein UG students are given a plethora of subject choices to pick from during the first two years of their four-year undergraduation studies.