University affiliation to be capped

In its recent proposal, the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, the Rashtriya Uchachatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), the Centre’s flagship programme to overhaul higher education in India. As per the proposed upper cap a university should have not more than 200 colleges under its umbrella. The number of colleges that can be affiliated to a university might soon be capped.

The main idea behind implementing this proposal as per RUSA, minimising the number of colleges under a university will help to maintain proper academic standards. The Ministry said in a press statement, “This phenomenon negatively affects the academic quality of the university. It is imperative that states create more universities.”

In India, average number of affiliation of the colleges per university in 300. The number of colleges under certain universities is much more than the upper bar of allowed numbers. Osmania University in Hyderabad, for instance, has 901 affiliated to it. Pune University has more than 811 colleges under its cap.

Similarly, Rajasthan and Mumbai Universities have 735 and 711 colleges attached to them respectively. RUSA is a new-centrally sponsored flagship umbrella scheme which is dedicated to offer systematic and planned funding to higher and technical institutions in states.