24.11.2022: Governor Koshyari calls for ‘Atma Nirbhar Universities’ to create ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’

Publish Date: November 24, 2022

Full-fledged meeting of State Vice Chancellors held in Raj Bhavan

Governor Koshyari calls for ‘Atma Nirbhar Universities’ to create ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’

CM says New VC Search Committees will be constituted as per UGC guidelines
Dy CM asks Universities to shape up; wants Key Result Areas for VCs to be reported on Dashboard
Start 4 -year degree courses from June, asks H & TE Minister; Says Voter Registration will be made obligatory for students above 18

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari today called upon vice chancellors of public universities in Maharashtra to turn universities ‘Atmanirbhar’ to attain the goal of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’. Stating that many private universities are doing well through self finance and distance education programmes, he called upon the State universities to take steps to implement the National Education Policy in an effective manner.

The Governor who is also the Chancellor of public universities in the State was addressing the full-fledged meeting of vice chancellors of Maharashtra’s non-agricultural universities at Raj Bhavan, Mumbai on Thursday (24 Nov)

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Minister of Higher and Technical Education Chandrakant Dada Patil, Minister of Skill Development and Tourism Mangal Prabhat Lodha, State Chief Electoral Officer Shrikant Deshpande, Principal Secretary higher and technical education Vikas Chandra Rastogi, Principal Secretary Skill Development Manisha Verma and vice chancellors and representatives of 20 non agricultural universities in Maharashtra were present.

Stating that the National Education Policy lays thrust on culture and Indian knowledge system, Goernor Koshyari asked vice chancellors to create small Advisory Committees comprising of dedicated officers, professors, young people and resource persons to advice them on the effective implementation of the policy in universities. The Governor said he will hold a follow up meeting of vice chancellors within six months to discuss the Action Taken on the issues agreed upon in the meeting.

New VC Search Committees to be constituted soon: CM Eknath Shinde

Participating in the meeting, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde asserted that the State will implement the National Education Policy in the best possible manner. He said the state government has decided to make suitable amendments in the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016 to make the selection process of vice chancellor and pro vice chancellors in sync with the guidelines of the University Grants Commission. Stating that the process of selection of vice chancellors will be expedited, he said new search committees for the selection of vice chancellors will be constituted soon.

Dy CM asks Universities to shape up; wants Key Result Areas for VCs to be reported on Dashboard

Expressing strong displeasure over the poor performance of some of the universities in Key Result areas such as declaration of results of various examinations on time, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asked the vice chancellors to take note of the lacunae and make amends quickly.

Expressing the need for bringing a robust digital system to make the implementation of National Education Policy effective, Fadnavis called for creating a Live Dashboard to report the 17 Key Result Areas of the Vice Chancellors to monitor the situation from time to time. Laying thrust on greater transparency by educational institutions, the Deputy Chief Minister said the findings of the College Inspection Teams should be made available on the websites of the colleges. He said while good progress is being made in achieving higher Gross Enrollment in the State, the Universities must pay focused attention on bringing excellence in education. Fadnavis expressed concern over the low percentage of voter registration among college students.

Start 4 -year degree courses from June, mandates H & TE Minister; Says Voter Registration will be made obligatory for students above 18

Minister of higher education Chandrakant Patil reminded the vice chancellors that there is no option for universities to implementing the four year degree course from June 2023 as mandated by the National Education Policy. He warned that action will be taken against those failing to do so. Patil said a Committee of retired vice chancellors will be constituted by the government shortly to address the concerns of vice chancellors in implementing the National Education Policy.

Taking note of the dismal percentage of the voter registration by students of universities and colleges, he said the Government will issue a Resolution mandating mandating students to get their voter registration for getting admission to the college.

Stating that as against the goal of attaining the enrollment of 50 lakhs students in the higher education system, Maharashtra has enrollment of only 32 lakh students. He called upon universities to run a campaign to encourage higher enrollment. He also reminded all to take cognisance of the recommendations of NEP regarding providing education in the mother tongue and skill development.

Lodha asks Universities to set up Skill Departments; design innovative courses

Minister of Skill Development Mangal Prabhat Lodha asked all universities to open Skill Departments and design innovative skill programme as would enable youths to find jobs locally. He said his department has sent Rs 5 crore to all universities for opening skill centres.

Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra Shrikant Deshpande called upon universities to create Electoral Literacy Clubs to involve the students in the democratic process. He said as many as 90 per cent of University and College students are presently out of the Voter Registration list. He called for efforts by universities and government to ensure cent per cent enrollment of students as voters.

Principal Secretary Higher and Technical Education Vikas Chandra Rastogi briefed the meeting of the Action Taken Report on the previous meeting of the vice chancellors held on 7th April 2018. He apprised the meeting of the steps taken by the Government for the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020.

The meeting discussed issues such as Areas of Concern for Implementation of NEP 2020, Academic Calendar of Universities, Formation of Students Grievance Redressal Cells, Development of User Friendly Websites, Online Payment Facility and Non Availability of Challan, Execution of Memorandums of Understanding, Designing of Self Finance Courses with CSR Funding and Industry Partnerships, NIRF Ranking of Universities, status of autonomy of colleges, implementation of Choice Based Credit System, Implementation of the Recommendations of Examination Committee Reforms, Academic Audit of University Departments and Centres of Competitive Examinations, etc. Vice Chancellors of various universities also spoke of their concerns and problems in the meeting.