The Hindu

Mangalore, May 24: The State Government has granted autonomy to seven degree colleges affiliated to Mangalore University, according to sources in the Department of Higher Education.

The colleges that have been granted autonomy are St. Aloysius College, Mangalore; St. Agnes College, Mangalore; St. Ann's College of Education, Mangalore; School of Social Work, Roshni Nilaya, Mangalore; Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheswara (SDM) College, Ujire; Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) College, Udupi; and Bhandarkar's College, Kundapur. The Government had issued an order to this effect, the sources told The Hindu .

St. Aloysius College, St. Agnes College, School of Social Workand SDM College have been accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with A grade. St. Ann's College of Education, which offers B.Ed., M.Ed., postgraduate diploma in computer application and pre-primary teacher training courses, has been granted five-star grade. Bhandarkar's College and MGM College have been given B++ grade.

Sources said that the Government would communicate its decision to Mangalore University, which in turn had to issue a notification to this effect.

Sources in the university said that the university was yet to receive the order from the Government. Once the order was received, the university would issue a notification citing the conditions imposed by the Government.

Of the seven colleges, two are reportedly not interested in being granted autonomy and want to remain under the university system, according to sources.

H. Shantharam, Administrative Officer of the Academy of General Education, Manipal, which manages MGM College and Bhandarkar's College, told The Hindu on Wednesday that his office was yet to receive the order.

"We find that the statute (prepared by the university relating to autonomy) does not give much autonomy at all. The Government controls the appointment of staff and the university wants control over the syllabi for courses. That is not the concept of autonomy we had in mind. In Western countries autonomy means institutions generally have full freedom," he said.

Asked if the academy would reject the autonomy, Mr. Shantharam said that a final decision would be taken only after studying the statute and orders of the Government and the university.

Swebert D'Silva, principal of St. Aloysius College, said that the college was fully prepared to switch over to the autonomous system from the academic year 2007-08. B. Yashovarma, principal of SDM College, Ujire, said that his college was prepared to come under the autonomous system from this academic year.