Maharashtra is expected to witness the opening of 121 new colleges in the upcoming academic year. The majority of these colleges are anticipated to offer traditional courses in Arts, Commerce, and Science.
This is in contrast to the government’s previously declared plans of encouraging skill-based curriculums in new colleges. Last year, Maharashtra’s Higher and Technical Education Minister, Chandrakant Patil, announced that new colleges offering only traditional courses would no longer be permitted.
However, a recent government resolution listing new colleges approved for their letter of intent (LOI) suggests otherwise. While most of the approved colleges offer traditional courses, there are a significant number of law colleges on the list.
Only a few colleges have expressed interest in providing skill-based courses such as Bachelor of Design. A senior officer from the higher and technical education department stated that while traditional courses are not entirely banned, job-oriented courses and skill-based courses are being strongly encouraged in all colleges as per the National Credit Framework.
The recent approvals also include other streams such as law and design. The final approval for a new college is granted by the government after fulfilling all infrastructural and other requirements, following the issuance of a letter of intent, which is the first step toward approval.
The perspective plans of individual universities determine the courses that should be offered in a particular locality as well as the requirements of colleges in different parts of their jurisdiction.
SNDT University, with the largest jurisdiction in the state, has received the highest number of new college applications at 30. Mumbai University has received 22 applications, of which 11 intend to offer a Law degree. Savitribai Phule Pune University has approved 18 new college applications for their LOI.