The Hindu/ Raviprasad Kamila

Mangalore, Mar 22: Mangalore University has forwarded to the State Government the recommendations of its Syndicate and Academic Council to grant autonomy to seven degree colleges affiliated to it, according to sources in the university.

The council on February 27 decided to recommend to the Government to grant autonomy to the colleges based on a report of a standing committee of the university. The Syndicate on March 3 endorsed the recommendations of the council, sources told.

The colleges are St. Aloysius College, Mangalore; St. Agnes College, Mangalore; St. Ann's College, Mangalore; School of Social Work, Roshni Nilaya, Mangalore; Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheswara College, Ujire; Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College, Udupi; and Bhandarkar's College, Kundapur. Though the two decision-making bodies were for granting autonomy to these colleges, the issue of approving new courses to be started by the colleges was not clear in the statute related to the autonomy, the sources said.

The statute mentions that the autonomous colleges can start new courses, and undergraduate and postgraduate diploma and certificate courses. If the university wanted to start a new course, the Academic Council and Syndicate of the university and the Government had to approve it. In the case of autonomous colleges, the statute said that governing bodies of such colleges had powers to approve them, the sources said. But it was not clear if the new courses required the permission of the university and the Government.

Jayaprakash Mavinakuli, principal of M.G.M. College, Udupi, said that if the autonomous colleges started new degree, diploma and certificate courses, getting the approval of the university for them was only a formality. It was also not necessary to get the Government's approval, he said.

B. Yashovarma, principal of S.D.M. College, Ujire, said that the new courses needed no approval of the Government. Sources in the university said that the university had revised the draft statute at least thrice as demanded by the Government. The statute was drafted according to the UGC guidelines. The draft statute was revised according to the suggestions given by the Government.

The university notified the statute on October 18, 2006.

It was now up to the Government to clarify if the new courses to be started by such colleges needed the approval of the university and the Government, and whether the university and the Government had rights to object to the new courses, the sources added.