Managements positive to academic sharing

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) has mooted a new proposal for the Scheme of Cluster of Colleges wherein private colleges need not share their infrastructure but go in for academic sharing. A meeting of KSHEC with the management representatives of private colleges, considered the proposal which was taken in a positive note by the latter.  The Cluster Colleges system, which was introduced in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode, evoked not much response, especially with the private colleges showing reluctance to join the scheme. The new Executive Council of the KSHEC is learned to have taken a decision, in principle,  to make changes in its existing mode. Instead of asking the colleges to share their infrastructure, the Council would ask them to share the academic inputs such seminars, workshops or trained faculty. This has been viewed positively by the management representatives. Sources said that the KSHEC was toying with a proposal by which colleges under the same management could form clusters and may earn autonomy at a later stage. This was shared with the management representatives at Thursday’s meeting, which was also well-received by them. The meeting was held mainly to discuss the projects and agenda of the new Executive Council of the KSHEC with the private managements. The meeting also discussed the credit and semester system, policy for higher education, reformation of the norms regarding appointments to the universities and so on. Various issues raised by the managements regarding teacher appointments, grading and student admission would be brought to the notice of the State Government, KSHEC vice-chairman T P Sreenivasan assured the representatives of the managements.  The meeting was attended by member-secretary P Anvar, executive member Lopez Mathew, Kerala Private College Managements’ Association president R Prasannakumar, secretary Mathew Meleparambil, Koshy Nainan, P A Hilal Babu, Jacob K Mathew, Asif, Jose P Mattam and Vishnu Nampoothiri among others.