15, January 2021
The concept of autonomy in higher education institutions was initially introduced in the National Education Policy, 1992. After a period, the UGC – University Grants Commission appointed a “Gnanam Committee” for the same.
Like - every coin has two sides, experts differ in their opinions when it comes to autonomy.
“Autonomy is a boon!”
“Institutions are better off without autonomy”
Well, the debate about institutional “autonomy” is ongoing!
With the market flooded with such contradictory opinions, we decided to analyze whether autonomy is seriously beneficial for institutions or not.
Through a series of logical questions and facts, we figured out - 5 reasons why higher education institutions should focus on achieving autonomy...
#1: Academic Freedom
The privilege of being an “Autonomous” institution is something that can make a college independent to make any academics-related decisions.
Autonomous institutions get the freedom to think, design, analyze, and create a curriculum & syllabus that meets their vision & mission statement.
They don’t need to do anything “out-of-the-box” to teach their students the latest technology & crucial “employment-centric” skills. All they need is to design the syllabus that includes everything! There is no dependency on any university or higher organization.
They can move in the pursuit of their goals without any hassle!
#2: Effective Education Model
Circling back to the first reason, HEIs with autonomy not just get the power to design their curriculum, they also get the choice to implement any of the education models.
A model that ensures – educational effectiveness!
Rather than choosing the conventional way of teaching-learning, higher education institutions can opt for a choice-based credit system (CBCS) or outcome-based education (OBE). Both the models of learning are effective and can prove fruitful in evaluating the student-performance.
CBCS would add the angle of multidisciplinary education, leading students to choose subjects of their interests. Whereas, the OBE education system would enable teachers to map the student performance at every step & make continuous improvements!
It’s a win-win situation!
#3: Examinations & Student Employment
Unlike the conventional education system, autonomous institutions can decide their examination pattern.
They can define whether they want to conduct – MCQs based exams or want students to appear for descriptive tests. Depending on their decision, they can arrange online examinations with the help of edTech such as college ERP software.
If a group of students doesn’t perform well due to health issues or any justifiable reasons, the management can even decide to take a re-test! They can even ask students to take part in internships that would enhance their skills.
With such provision, students can clear their back-log subjects and improve their chances of campus placements.
To sum up
Autonomy removes a lot of barriers & challenges that HEIs face and paves a smooth way of achieving better student outcomes.
As rightly quoted by Thomas Szasz -
“Autonomy... is the freedom to develop one's self - to increase one's knowledge, improve one's skills, and achieve responsibility for one's conduct. And it is the freedom to lead one's own life, to choose among alternative courses of action so long as no injury to others results.”
Therefore institutions must focus on achieving autonomy!
If you have any queries about autonomy and how the higher education management system can help you achieve it effortlessly, get in touch with us!
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