A few days ago, Hemali Chhapia reported in the Times of India that our hub-and-spoke system of universities with affiliated colleges may be nearing its end.
Here's the catch: under the proposed plan -- originally mooted by the National Knowledge Commission -- the colleges will not become independent; they will become affiliated to a 'Board of Undergraduate Education'. Did I just hear you go, "yuck!"? That was my first reaction too! [See below]
[See Damini Purkayastha's story in the Hindustan Times about Delhi University's plans to de-affiliate its colleges. The DU Teachers' Association has opposed this plan. Apparently, quite a few states -- in addition to Delhi, the ToI story mentions Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and the Union Territory of Puducherry -- have fallen for this 'reform'.
I think the current system is awful; but, I also think that the proposed system is far more awful. I have given my initial reactions in a guest post at Blog Bharti. Your comments are welcome; please head over there.
