Three more engineering colleges in the state will be given autonomy status. St. Gitz’s College of Engineering, Kottayam, Mar Baselios College of Engineering and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram and Rajagiri School of Engineering, Kakkanad, UGC. According to the Autonomy Rules for Colleges, the UGC has given these institutions autonomous status for a period of 10 years from the academic year 2020-21 to 2029-30.
Autonomy was achieved on the basis of various criteria such as academic excellence, high placement, excellent infrastructure, adequately qualified teachers, and high teacher-student ratio. The announcement comes at the end of a lengthy process that began with these colleges applying to UGC in early 2019 after achieving adequate qualifications.
According to the UGC guidelines, colleges with NAAC accreditation with a minimum A grade or NBA accreditation with at least three branches with a score of 675 can apply for autonomous status within ten years.
The Government of Kerala had constituted a three-member expert committee to study the autonomy status of engineering colleges. Kerala State Planning Board Member Dr.B. Dr. Iqbal, Principal Secretary, Department of Higher Education; Usha Titus, APJ Abdulkalam University of Technology Vice-Chancellor Dr. MS. The committee comprising Rajasree recommended to the government in favor of giving autonomy in the field of technical education.
The three colleges will be given autonomy as long as their affiliation with APJ Abdul Kalam University of Technology continues. Autonomous colleges should also have a governing body, an academic council, a board of studies, and a finance committee. These colleges can start UG, PG and PhD courses with the approval of the University with the approval of their Academic Councils.
At present, 19 Arts and Science Colleges (18 aided, one Government) in the State are affiliated to the University of Kerala, Mahatma Gandhi University and Calicut Univers
