Kathmandu Post

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Do it anyway

APR 23 -
The tricky question of whether it is appropriate to grant greater autonomy to the 60 constituent colleges and five technical institutes under the Tribhuvan University (TU) umbrella is being asked again, this time after the TU Assembly on Thursday amended rules towards that end.

Greater autonomy will mean the campuses will be able to appoint their own staff, allocate funding, seek alternative income sources and fix fees. It could also come with a huge cheque. Each college that is granted autonomy will be eligible for a one-time grant of up to Rs 180 million, not a small sum for the beleaguered institutions, many of which lack even basic infrastructure like an adequate number of desks and benches and concrete roofing. TU’s latest initiative apparently comes after prodding from the World Bank. The thinking behind the push towards greater autonomy for TU constituent colleges is that these institutions should, in the long run, be able to sustain themselves through their own incomes instead of falling back on the perennially cash-strapped government. Although the recent fee hikes for Bachelor and Master level courses should help with its finances, TU still relies on the government to foot over 80 percent of its bills.

Greater autonomy for constituent campuses in itself is not a bad idea. Tribhuvan University, over the years, has become a behemoth. As it is, it is incapable of maintaining any kind of oversight over its constituent campuses spread across

the country. In the long run, the best case scenario would indeed be for the constituent campuses (and, by extension, the university) to cover their costs through self earnings. Many educationists believe that with qualified managers and less political intervention, TU would be able to recover its costs even as it offers quality education at reasonable fees. But besides the internal debate that still roils on among TU administrations on whether it is the best option to allow greater autonomy—the Ilam-based Mahendra Ratna Campus, which enjoys such autonomy, has been crippled by student protests over corruption and other charges levelled against the campus administration—there is another hurdle TU has to overcome to implement its latest decision.

The Human Rights and International Relations Committee of the legislature-parliament had last Sunday directed the Education Ministry to scratch the campus autonomy plan.

It believes that the decision of autonomy for TU constituent campuses is best left to the federal states as the country has already decided on a federal set-up: Why complicate matters by jumping the gun? It is a valid point. But it is also hard to foresee, at least in the near future, individual state governments investing much energy worrying about their educational establishments. They are likely to be beset with more pressing concerns. That said, cutting back political interference in education institutions and expediting the process of their delegation into the hands of qualified academics need not wait for the settlement of broader political questions.

Posted on: 2011-04-24 09:07

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