NU plans 32 new colleges atplaces with low enrolment

Nagpur: Though Nagpur University (NU) has received cold response from institutions for new courses this year, it has made provisions for opening 32 new colleges including six professional, 13 women’s and two evening colleges at places having comparatively low gross enrolment ratio (GER).

The provision has been made in the university’s five-year perspective plan and the process to identify specific locations would start soon.

The move is primarily aimed at making higher education easily accessible to girls in taluka places and remote areas who are forced to give up studies because of long distances between home and institutions.

The NU already has 584 affiliated colleges and to deal with the additional workload, it plans to start a satellite centre in Bhandara as well.

As per a study of its records, the NU found that Hingna, Ashti, Tumsar and Tiroda were most backward areas as far as GER of female students was concerned. These talukas are also among the most backward in terms of inclusivity, equity, beside having poor enrolment of SC, ST and NT students under the NU’s jurisdiction.

In its annual plan for 2020, NU plans to increase the GER in these categories by one per cent by starting new colleges. Focus on quality, delivery of education and revision of affiliation norms too have been proposed by the university. The new norms will also make accreditation by NAAC/NBA a pre-condition for continuation of affiliation.

Former HoD of public administration Neelima Deshmukh said the university must start more professional colleges and also focus on non-professional ones too. “Definitely, this move will help improve enrolment. For women, mobility is a big issue. Families are averse to sending girls to college because of safety concerns and gender bias. Hence, local access to education will be a game changer for them,” she said.

Deshmukh, who is also former director of NU Centre For Women’s Studies, said lower income groups too would benefit from the move. She also cautioned that courses must be selected carefully and fee must be kept low.

Padvidhar Mahasangh president Mahendra Nimbarte, who belongs to Bhandara, said colleges exclusively for women are much needed in eastern Vidarbha. “Often, girls have to stop their education midway because they can’t travel to Nagpur while they don’t have feasible options in Bhandara and Gondia districts. Many parents also don’t like sending their girls to coeducation institutions. But, it is also a fact that girls are more keen on completing their studies here,” the students leader said.

Perspective plan draft committee member Shrikant Komawar said the provision is based on the recommendations of Jadhav committee. “We have identified 10 places to increase enrolment of women. The concept of evening colleges was included for cities and industrialized areas where workers too can complete their studies,” he said.

*Box

A) Improvement in GER

District ---------------------- Current GER ---------------2020 Target

Nagpur ---------------------- 25.69% ----------------------26.98%

Wardha----------------------- 23.99% ---------------------25.18%

Bhandara --------------------- 27.27 %---------------------- 28.63%

Gondia ---------------------- 19.90% ---------------------- 20.90%

B) Inclusivity and equity

District ---------------------- Current GER ---------------2020 Target

Hingna ---------------------- 13.92% ----------------------14.62%

Ashti----------------------- 12.56% ---------------------13.19%

Tumsar --------------------- 21.52 %---------------------- 22.60%

Tiroda ---------------------- 15.29% ---------------------- 16.05%

C) Girl students

District ---------------------- Current GER ---------------2020 Target

Hingna ---------------------- 15.59% ----------------------16.37%

Ashti----------------------- 15.59% ---------------------16.37%

Tumsar --------------------- 19.16 %------------------- 20.12%

Tiroda ---------------------- 17.82% ---------------------- 18.71%