University trust to extend loans

PUNE, May 19: In a bid to raise additional resources and provide economic stability, the University of Pune will set up a development trust ...

PUNE, May 19: In a bid to raise additional resources and provide economic stability, the University of Pune will set up a development trust which will provide low interest soft loans to colleges and students.

The trust will ensure that the economic needs of the colleges are met with, Vice-Chancellor Dr Arun Nigavekar said during a 8220;Meet-the-Press8221; function organised by the Pune Union of Working Journalists PUWJ today.

While Nigavekar said that there was no limit to the amount of corpus for the trust which could 8220;build up,8221; the V-C said that financial experts and industrialists would also be invited to contribute towards the development of the university and colleges. The proposal will be placed before the management council, he said.

The V-C who spoke at length on various issues however reiterated the need to provide quality in higher education and also called for a 8220;cafetaria approach8221; where geographical barriers are broken towards the exchange of knowledge and information. He also stressed on the management of higher education being equally important to provide quality.

While the V-C said that the Maharashtra Universities Act 8217;94 did not really hamper the varsity8217;s administrative functioning, he pointed out that several statutes had not been drafted as per the provisions of the Act. There is a need to usher in a professional approach in all sections, Nigavekar said admitting that micro-level planning was highly essential.

Regarding the dichotomy between the university post-graduate departments and the PG centres attached to colleges, Nigavekar said that the former policy makers had not taken into account the problems that would crop up. In fact several PG centres attached to colleges are on the verge of closing shop due to the lack of students. While we want to provide autonomy to university PG departments, the V-C also said that they were exploring the possibility of amalgamating the PG centres at the district level.

Nigavekar said he was aware of the enormity of the problem and said that there was a need to introduce the moderation method in the Central Assessment Programme CAP. He also lamented that the Single Window System had failed and a decision regarding the process would be taken within a month.

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The V-C who as former Director of National Accreditation and Assessment Council NAAC had studied the functioning of nearly 120-125 universities feels that while things will not change overnight, he definitely had found the 8220;pulse.8221;