Maha Govt Mandates Transparency: Colleges and Universities to Disclose Fees, Placements, Teacher Details

MUMBAI: Students and parents will soon have access to an extensive database about colleges and universities in the state. From details about fees, refund policies, placements, internships, hostel facilities, to scholarship opportunities, institutions must disclose every aspect. Teachers' details, including appointment type (temporary, regular, or visiting), qualifications, research work, experience, and Ph.D.status, must also be posted mandatorily.
Following a directive by the University Grants Commission (UGC), the state government issued a resolution on Thursday, instructing colleges and universities to provide full disclosure about their institutions on their portals. The details should be uploaded 60 days before the commencement of the degree college admission process, as mentioned in the government resolution (GR).
Colleges must publish previous year’s admission cut-offs, as well as the number of applications received and actual enrollment figures. Details of any foreign collaboration, including the partner university's accreditation status in the home country, must also be disclosed, according to the GR based on the UGC directive. Additionally, an exhaustive list of infrastructure requirements, including internet bandwidth and a video showcasing it, is necessary. Each college must establish a student grievance redressal committee and provide details of the ombudsperson on their website.
Colleges' rules for imposing fines for various violations, including the maximum fines, must be communicated in advance. While many leading colleges and universities already have some data on their portals, a significant number of institutions do not provide any details on their official portals. "This full disclosure will reveal a concerning state of affairs in many unaided colleges, which lack sufficient qualified teachers," said a former university official.
A principal mentioned that many teachers are unable to conduct research alongside their teaching and administrative duties, making them uncomfortable with providing all the information. "A lot of data has been requested, and uploading all these details 60 days before admission, and in the government's required format, will be challenging," said the principal, considering the additional workload during election duties. Although details on implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) have also been requested, a principal mentioned that they have been implementing it gradually, semester by semester, making it difficult to present the entire eight-semester plan at once.