Unit 5 Management of Higher Education: Institutional Level: Structure

Management of Higher
Education UNIT 5 MANAGEMENT OF HIGHER

EDUCATION: INSTITUTIONAL
LEVEL
Structure
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Objectives
5.3 Universities: The Organisational Framework
5.3.1 Structure of universities
5.3.2 Universities according to roles/functions
5.4 Governance of universities
5.4.1 Constitution of universities
5.4.2 The Executive council
5.4.3 The Academic Council
5.4.4 Faculty/Schools
5.4.5 The Court (Senate)
5.4.6 Finance Committee
5.4.7 Other Models of Governance
5.5 The People Who Manage the Universities
5.5.1 The Visitor/Chancellor
5.5.2 The Chancellor
5.5.3 The Vice-Chancellor
5.5.4 The Pro-Vice-Chancellor/Rector
5.5.5 The Deans
5.5.6 The Registrar
5.5.7 The Finance Officer
5.6 The Management of Colleges
5.6.1 Types of Colleges
5.6.2 Colleges and the Universities
5.6.3 Autonomous Colleges
5.6.4 Management of Colleges
5.7 Let Us Sum Up
5.8 Check Your Progress: Possible Answers
5.9 References and Suggested Readings
5.1 INTRODUCTION
In the previous units of this Block, we discussed the growth and
development of higher education in India in the context of the emerging
global trends as well as the issues confronting higher education in terms of
access, equity, relevance and quality. From this perspective, we also took a
close look at the prospects that higher education will face in the near future
in the Indian context. From this perspective, we looked at the efforts that
Indian higher education system has been making in recent years to cope
with the emerging problems and challenges – the need for expansion in an
environment of shrinking resources, the imperative of widening access
without compromising quality and the challenges arising from global
competition as well as the increasing trends of commercialisation of higher
education.
120
Our focus in this discussion so far has been on the system and its structures Management of Hihger
and processes. We shall now turn our attention to the micro-management Education: Institutional
Level
issues in higher education at the institutional level.
5.2 OBJECTIVES
On completion of this unit, you should be able to:
• describe the broad organisational framework within which Indian
universities are structured;
• identify types of universities according to their functions;
• analyse the roles and functions of various decision-making bodies and
functionaries in universities; and
• explain various issues related to planning and management of
universities and colleges in India.
5.3 UNIVERSITIES: THE ORGANISATIONAL

FRAMEWORK
You will recall that in unit 1, we discussed the birth of the modern university
in India in 1857. For almost half a century, the main functions that
universities performed were to grant affiliation to colleges, to hold
examinations and to award degrees. It was only in 1904 that Indian
universities (there were only four of them) were given the power to establish
departments of teaching, appoint teachers and provide for the instruction of
students directly enrolled by them. It meant that the number of new colleges
seeking affiliation came down; it also paved the way for the establishment of
new teaching universities. Some of the new universities at Dhaka (now in
Bangladesh), Aligarh, Benaras, Rangoon (now in Myanmar), Patna and
Nagpur were established as teaching and residential universities. This was
soon followed by similar universities set up by several princely states that
comprised British India before independence.
Around the same period, a number of institutions, founded primarily to

promote a nationalist system of higher education (as against the modern
university modelled on the British pattern) also came up in several parts of
the country. These institutions functioned outside the formal structure of the
university system during the British period, and were co-opted into the
formal system after independence.
The constitutional dispensation that we outlined briefly in the previous unit,

did not permit the central government to establish universities till it was
revised in 1977. Nevertheless, it was inevitable that certain special
institutions that could provide facilities for teaching and research of the
highest quality at an all India level, were required to be set up by the central
government, and a chain of institutions called “Institutions of National
Importance” were soon set up. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), etc. came in this category,
adding to the variations in structures.
In this unit, we shall examine the management issues associated with Indian
universities.
121
Management of Higher 5.3.1 Structure of Universities
Education
India has central and state universities, unitary, federal and affiliating
universities, institutions of national importance, institutions deemed to be
universities and open universities. The common typology, however, is that
of a state university with its finances for maintenance provided by a state
government, and its development programmes funded jointly by the state
government and the central government through the University Grants
Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education
(AICTE).
On a functional basis, institutions of higher education consist of multi-

faculty general universities that are engaged in teaching and research in
nearly all traditional disciplines, those devoted to teaching and research in
clusters of disciplines like agriculture, medicine, law, languages and
technology The broad pattern and structure of governance of most of these
universities are similar; the management responsibility vesting with an
Executive Council (also known as Syndicate or Board of Management) and
the academic responsibility vesting with the Academic Council (also known
as Senate).
We shall now take a close look at the different types of universities

functioning in India on the basis of their structural patterns
Affiliating Universities
The affiliating type of universities has a number of colleges affiliated to it. In
this pattern the bulk of the teaching takes place in the colleges which admit
students and impart instruction to them. The majority of Indian universities
are of the affiliating type. You will recall that we have mentioned elsewhere
in this block that there are about 20,000 colleges in India. Each of these is
affiliated to one of the 400 or more universities. It should be noted here that
colleges do not have the option to choose the university to which they
should get affiliated. Each university has a clearly defined geographical
jurisdiction, and colleges located in those territories must necessarily be
affiliated to it.
In the affiliating system, the university concerned prescribes the courses of
study, holds the examinations and awards the degrees while all the teaching
is done by the colleges. The university has little to do with the appointment
of teachers, admission of students and the day-to-day academic functioning
of the colleges. However, the university concerned does insist that teachers
appointed by the colleges should possess the qualifications prescribed by it
and that they should conform to the criteria laid down for the selection of
students for admission.
Universities generally prescribe a set of criteria under its statutory powers to
grant affiliation to colleges. These criteria, among others, include the
provision of infrastructure (classrooms, laboratories and libraries,
administrative buildings, hostels and residences, books and equipment),
number of teachers required for courses to be offered, the qualifications
required of the teachers, funding arrangements, management structures and
the approval of the state government concerned, where necessary. In the case
of colleges offering professional programmes like those in engineering, law,
medicine, etc., the approval of the concerned statutory authority is necessary
before students are admitted and teaching is started. Once affiliation is
granted, and the colleges start functioning, the university sends teams of
experts at specified intervals to inspect the facilities provided and to ensure
122
that all the criteria for affiliation are followed. Any breach of the criteria Management of Hihger
could lead to the withdrawal of affiliation. Education: Institutional
Level
It is the primary responsibility of the university to prescribe the courses of
study and to conduct the examinations. College teachers have very little to
do in the design of courses or the development of their content. Their role is
just to teach according to the syllabi handed over to them. The examinations
are set by the universities and college teachers may have the responsibility to
assess the answer sheets sent to them by the university though these would
not be of their own students. In other words, a college teacher has no role in
determining what to teach and how, or in assessing the performance of his/
her students. A major criticism of this model is that college teaching is a
lifeless process; there is very little interaction between the academic
communities in the university and its colleges; and there is no opportunity
or incentive for any innovations in teaching.
Though the modern Indian university was born as a purely affiliating and
examining body, this model has changed very soon. There are no universities
today that are purely affiliating with no teaching of its own. All universities
are teaching universities with many among them also affiliating. In other
words, there are quite a few universities that only teach with no colleges
affiliated to them. We shall now turn our attention to this model.
Unitary Universities
These are of relatively recent origin in India; they are modelled after the
European universities or their more contemporary counterparts in the
United States. They are essentially teaching campuses where generally post-
graduate studies and research programmes are offered; in many cases, they
also offer undergraduate programmes. They control all aspects of
curriculum transaction, including curriculum planning, teaching and
examinations. A typical unitary university comprises several schools or
faculties, each of which in turn comprises several departments. The school,
faculty and departments are not loose administrative units. They are more
academic than administrative organs.
All the teachers are appointed by the university; and hey have greater
representation on the university bodies and serve much greater roles in
shaping the academic decisions of the university. It is much easier in such
universities to introduce innovative changes in terms of courses and other
curricular and examination practices. It must, however, be admitted that
although these universities have contributed significantly to the goal of
attaining excellence, their response to the demand for access from a larger
number of students has not been as impressive, often leading to the criticism
that they tend to be elite institutions.
Federal universities
These universities do not affiliate colleges; instead, they have constituent
colleges, whose administrative as well as academic functions are clearly the
responsibility of the university. The university controls the design of courses,
selection of teachers, and conduct of examinations in the constituent
colleges. Teachers in the constituent colleges have greater representation on
the university bodies in comparison with those in affiliated colleges. With
the pressure of the number of colleges, this model has over a period time
become ineffective. For example, Delhi University used to be a federal
university, but now it has a more complicated structure with both
constituent as well as affiliated colleges in addition to its post-graduate
campuses.
123
Education Check Your Progress 1
Note: i) Space is given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of the unit.
i) What is the major difference between Affiliating and Unitary University?
(answer in about 40 words)
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
ii) How do you categorize the Delhi University? (answer in about 40 words)
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
5.3.2 Universities According to Roles/Functions

We shall now move from the structural patterns to the specialised/functional
types among the universities in India.
Agricultural universities
Soon after independence, Indian policy makers recognised the need for
modernisation of the agricultural sector. This essentially meant creating an
infrastructure for preparation of trained professionals in the field and for
generating new and vital technologies related to agriculture through
research and development and for making this know-how accessible to
farmers. Creation of agricultural universities was primarily to
institutionalise the response to the demands on Indian higher education.
There are 27 Agricultural universities in India. Initially, the intention was to

set up one Agricultural university in each major state. Later, some of the
bigger states set up two or more such universities. Smaller states have now
an Agricultural university set up by the central government for their
common benefit. All these universities provide undergraduate, post-
graduate and research programmes in agriculture and animal sciences. A
significant contribution made by these universities is to take the outcomes of
their research to the farms through large scale extension work. For example,
research findings on new farm practices, high-yielding crop varieties, better
seeds and plant protection systems, storage and preservation of crops, better
marketing of farm products, etc. are immediately transferred to the farming
communities through systematic training programmes. Most agricultural
universities are single-campus institutions (some may have more than one
campus), and most of them have large experimental farms for trials and
testing of new crops and practices. In fact, a large part of the credit for
transforming India from a food-deficit country to a food-exporting
124 economy should go to these universities.
Technological/Medical universities Management of Hihger
Education: Institutional
Universities teaching only engineering and technology subjects or medicine Level
and allied professional areas are not new or peculiar to India. Such
universities are found across Europe and the Americas. In India too, there
are such universities in several states. But some of them are unique in that
they have been established primarily to oversee the functioning of a number
of affiliated colleges in engineering or medicine. With the establishment of
such universities, all existing colleges offering education programmes in the
concerned disciplines stand disaffiliated from their parent university, and
affiliated to the newly set up technological or medical university.
The main reason for this initiative was the feeling that professional colleges
often did not get the attention they deserved in dealing with serious issues of
academic significance concerning curricular reforms, modernisation of
laboratories, theory-practice integration in teaching, and improvements in
the quality of the provision. Burdened as they were with the problems of a
large number of colleges teaching arts, science and commerce, many among
them very old with their teachers dominating the governing councils and
academic bodies, the professional institutions felt neglected. The remedy
was to detach them from their existing universities and bring them under the
supervision of new universities that could address their concerns swiftly and
without being overwhelmed by age-old theories and practices of
conventional teaching. In several cases, the new professional universities
were authorised by law to affiliate colleges located anywhere in the state in
which the new university was established, irrespective of the fact that
another university in the state had jurisdiction over those colleges by virtue
of its territorial jurisdiction. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka in the
South pioneered this experiment.
Deemed universities
While discussing the evolution of modern university education in India
during the 19th century, we mentioned that there were some institutions of
higher education in India engaged in teaching and research in indigenous
knowledge systems and practices. We had also occasion to mention that
during the national freedom movement, a set of new institutions came up in
several parts of the country to promote a national system of education as
opposed to the colonial system that was transplanted from Britain. After
India became independent, it became imperative that these institutions that
did not form part of the university system till then were co-opted into the
formal Indian higher education system. Since there was no legislative
sanction for their establishment, a mechanism had to be devised to
incorporate them into the formal structures of Indian higher education. So,
when the University Grants Commission (UGC) was established in 1956
under an Act of Parliament, a provision was made in the legislation that
empowered the Central Government to notify, on the recommendation of the
UGC, any existing institution for higher education that was not a university
established by law, as an institution deemed to be a university with all the
privileges and benefits that formally established universities enjoy. The
institutions notified under this provision (Section 3 of the UGC Act) came to
be known as ‘deemed universities’.
The UGC had prescribed rigorous conditions that an institution should fulfil
to be notified as a deemed university. The claims of an institution are closely
scrutinised by a Committee of experts to satisfy that the institution has
made significant contributions to higher education and that it richly
125
Management of Higher deserved the status of a university and such a status, if conferred, would
Education enrich the university system in the country. During the first two decades
after this provision was made, just about 18 institutions were conferred this
status. Among this category of institutions in India are the Indian Institute
of Science (IISc), Bangalore, the Birla Institute of Technology and Science
(BITS), Pilani and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, all of
which are centres of excellence in their fields of study and research.
In the last two decades, the situation changed dramatically. Several colleges,
especially those established as self-financing institutions in professional
fields, wanted to break away from the conventional university regime.
Under pressure, the UGC and the Central Government liberalised the
procedures and a very large number of colleges and other institutions were
conferred the ‘deemed to be university’ status. The number of this category
of institutions rose to 130 by 2009. Many among them that were privately
managed exploited their status and indulged in malpractices of one kind or
another. Many of them that promised excellent infrastructure and high
quality faculty failed to deliver on their promises; some of them collected
heavy donations/capitation fees to build infrastructure but failed to make the
necessary investments; and some were there merely on the basis of their
clout with the political establishment. A recent assessment found that as
many as 44 such deemed universities did not deserve to be universities and
were told that their status would be withdrawn. These institutions have
approached the Court and their case is still under adjudication (2010). The
lesson that one has to learn from this experience is that political pressure and
patronage can play havoc with well entrenched systems and destroy
reputations painstakingly built over decades unless adequate checks and
balances are built in as correctives within systems.
Institutions of National Importance

You will recall that while discussing the role of the central government in the
previous unit, we have drawn your attention to the constitutional
dispensation in education that divided the roles and responsibilities between
the central and state governments. We had mentioned that except to a
limited but potentially significant extent, the primary responsibility for
education was that of the states. Only the states could establish universities;
the centre did not have the power to do so (this dispensation changed in
1977 after a constitutional amendment). However, the centre had the explicit
responsibility under the constitution to establish and maintain institutions
and facilities that were of national importance.
It was under this provision that the central government established under an
Act of Parliament in the early 1950s the Institutes of Technology (IITs) as
centres of excellence in engineering and technology education. To begin
with, there were only five of them, all established in the 1950s and 1960s.
Since the 1990s, several new IITs were established in different parts of the
country and presently (2009), there are 16 Institutes of Technology. These
institutions have established a global reputation and their graduates have
found leading positions in high-value markets in the developed world.
Admission to these institutions is through a national level common
admission test in which over 150,000 aspirants take part for about 3000
places. They also offer Masters and Ph.D programmes.
Similar institutions were established in medical education and research; the

All India Institute of Medical Science in Delhi and the Post-Graduate
Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh. Another major
126
institution in this category is the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkota. More Management of Hihger
such institutions were added in this category in later years; presently, there Education: Institutional
Level
are 12 of them. Parliament must legislate to create an institution of national
importance and, therefore, there is no possibility of this type of institutions
proliferating under any pressure. Such institutions when set up are assured
of full financial support from the central government and they always
maintain high quality in education and research.
Other Institutions
This discussion will not be complete without the mention of a unique
category of institutions that do not fall in any of the types mentioned in the
previous sections. They are the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), the
initial two of which were set up in the early 1960s. This was a joint initiative
of the central government and the industry. The Ford Foundation provided
the initial support to secure collaboration with well established management
schools in the USA. These institutes were set up in Ahmedabad and Kolkota
as registered societies to offer education and training in the professional
field of management. These institutes do not award degrees; in fact, they
have no legislative sanction to do so. Their programmes are known as the
post-graduate Diploma in Management (recognised as equivalent to MBA)
and the Fellowship of the Institute of Management (equivalent to Ph.D). Two
more institutes were established later, one in Bangalore in 1972 and another
in Lucknow some twelve years later. More recently, three more IIMs were set
up in Kozhikode (Kerala), Indore (Madhya Pradesh) and Shillong
(Meghalaya). Seven more are in the pipeline.
From its inception, these institutes have gained tremendous popularity and
their graduates are in great demand not just in India but across the world.
Multinational companies visit their campuses in the third semester of their
four-semester programmes and offer them attractive remuneration packages.
Presently, some 150,000 students sit in a common admission test for about
2000 or so places that these institutions offer. Most of them, except the new
ones are self-supporting, and the levels of their fees are indeed very high.
Students who cannot afford the high fees are provided student loans by
banks and other financial institutions and repayments begin soon after the
graduates find placement. The experience of these institutions testifies to the
fact that degree giving powers are not a necessary precondition for success
of a higher education institution; what matters is the relevance of the
programmes and their quality.
Check Your Progress 2

Note: i) Space is given below for your answer.
ii) Check your answer with the one given at the end of the unit.
What did you understand by the major issues related to Deemed Universities
at this point of time? (answer in about 40 words)
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
127
Education 5.4 GOVERNANCE OF UNIVERSITIES
The experience of universities in India varies from university to university.
The more important variables are their types, the length of time they have
been in existence, and the governments that fund them. One thing that is
common to all of them is that all of them have been set up under legislation,
central or state, and that they are all intended to function as autonomous
institutions. The institutions deemed to be universities do not have a
uniform pattern and their governance structure varies from institution to
institution.
Briefly stated, autonomy of a university is its freedom to organise and

administer its affairs as a corporate body in accordance with the law by
which it is established. The autonomous character of the university is
reflected in its internal management, the freedom with which it can decide
its policies and programmes, appoint its personnel, determine their
relationship with one another and facilitate their smooth functioning with a
view to realising their objectives. You will recall that we had occasion to
discuss the issues concerning university autonomy in general in the previous
block (unit 2), and noted how, and in what circumstances, this notion of
autonomy is often compromised under one pretext or another. We shall not
repeat them here.
A university exists primarily for its students and scholars and, through their
work, for the society at large. It provides them learning opportunities in a
variety of ways through teachers in the classrooms, books in the libraries and
experimental facilities in the field or in the laboratories, opportunities for
interaction with other students in seminars, tutorials, group projects or in
numerous other forums and activities based in hostels, clubs and
associations. An important source of learning is actual experience of social
and environmental realities first hand, investigation of phenomena and
situations and actual participation in activities of a creative and
developmental nature. The universities should have facilities, structures,
management, and above all, programmes available in sufficient variety so
that each student can learn according to his/her inclination, aptitude and
need. It is only then that the student can get the best out of the university
and the nation its strength to sustain itself.
The concept of education and hence of educational institutions has

undergone significant changes in recent years. Education is no longer just
creation and dissemination of knowledge; it is also about social concerns and
grappling with the problems of contemporary life outside the classrooms.
Students and institutions have to get involved in study, work and services
related to national development that have come to be known as the third
dimension of education (apart from teaching and research). A classic
example of this involvement in development initiatives is the extension
activities carried by the agricultural universities in India that we mentioned
earlier in this unit. Research and creative activities provide a deeply
enriching learning experience that turns students into responsible citizens
endowed with firm commitment, determination and the will to address the
problems of the society of which they are a part. It is through this
involvement that the university community pays back to the society
handsome dividends on the investments that society makes in human
development.
128
5.4.1 Constitution of Universities Management of Hihger
Since the university is a creation of the legislature and legislation is generally Level
the preserve of the government of the day, it is for the government to decide
what all should go into the legislation when establishing a university. It is
these provisions in the legislation that will ultimately determine the nature
and extent of autonomy that a university will enjoy.
It needs to be emphasised again that autonomy is not a legal or

constitutional concept; it is, as a Committee on Governance of Universities in
India said in 1971, “an ethical and an academic concept”. This concept does
not question the sovereignty of the legislature to make laws or to discuss and
determine the nature and structure of universities, as swell as their rights
and obligations. University autonomy does not suggest that universities are
a state within a state , and a law into themselves. The university cannot claim
autonomy as a privilege, but as a condition necessary for it to discharge its
duties and obligations. Two conditions on which university autonomy are
predicated are; (i) autonomy within the university, and (ii) autonomy in
relation to agencies and authorities external to it, particularly, the
government.
Much will depend on how the decision-making bodies of the university are
constituted, and what their composition is. At this point, it is important to
remember a major, and perhaps, a unique feature of the functions associated
with the management of universities. You will recall that in block 1, while
discussing the functions and processes involved in the management of
universities, we had drawn attention to a number of components. If you take
a close look at those components, you will see that they fall into two
categories, namely, (i) functions and processes associated with the
administration of the institution, and (ii) the teaching-learning functions and
their processes. While the first category of functions (which include the
management and administration of personnel, finance, infrastructure), the
second category is all in the realm of academic management (curriculum
design, instructional system, teaching, student assessment). This latter
category of functions does not always lend itself to conventional styles and
methods of management.
These two distinctive types of management functions are reflected in the

governance structure of universities. Every university has two important
decision-making bodies. The Executive Council (Board of Management or
Syndicate) is the principal executive body dealing with all the functions of
the first category, and the Academic Council (in some cases called the
Senate) is the principal academic body, taking all the decisions in areas
falling within the second category. This duality in the decision-making
processes is the unique feature of university management.
It does not follow that the broad areas of concern assigned to these two
bodies are mutually exclusive, and that there are no overlaps between them.
Further, the decisions taken by one body may have implications for the
other. For instance, if the Academic Council were to decide to launch an
entirely new programme, the Executive Council will have to take decisions
on the creation of new teaching positions, and provision of other
infrastructure. On the other hand, if the Executive Council finds that due to
shortage of resources, some of the current programmes need to be
reviewed, the Academic Council will have to look at the issues. In other
words, it is necessary for the health of the university that the two bodies
function organically, with mutual respect and coordination though, in
129
Management of Higher practice, it is not unusual to see conflicts arising between the two. It is
Education inherent in the nature of functions of the universities that there is always
some tension between the academics and the administrators, sometimes
also institutionalised in terms of the conflicts between Executive and
Academic Councils. Normally, while prescribing the composition and
functions of these two bodies, the legislation also takes care to specify the
matters on which, and the manner in which, either body consults the other.
However, since the execution of any decision requiring funds, people and
facilities is in the domain of the Executive Council, this body is perceived to
have an edge over the Academic Council in terms of power and authority.
With this understanding of a significant complexity in the structure and

pattern of governance of universities, we shall now proceed to take a close
look at the constitution of these bodies, the functions they perform and the
powers they exercise.
5.4.2 The Executive Council

The Executive Council (also called the Board of Management or the
Syndicate) is the authority that takes all executive decisions and implement
them. All administrative and financial powers are exercised by this body.
Generally the Executive Council consists of the Vice-Chancellor as its
Chairman, a Pro-Vice-Chancellor, two Deans, three or four representatives of
teachers, two or three representatives (generally Heads) of colleges or
institutions affiliated to the university, three or four nominees of the
government, and two or three members of the Senate who are external
members. There could be minor variations in this broad pattern of
composition from university to university. The significant point is that it has
the majority of its members from within the university, and an adequate
representation of interests from outside. The internal and external
representation is generally in the ratio of 3:2 with the total membership
ranging between 15 and 20.
The important functions of the Executive Council are:
• Making statutes and ordinances which govern and regulate the
functioning of all sub-systems of the university;
• Control of the finances and properties;
• Management of personnel (recruitment, promotion, conditions of
service, welfare);
• Supervision over the management of institutions/colleges affiliated to
the university;
• Redressal of grievances of teachers, staff and students.
It should be noted however that the power of legislation (rule-making) in all
academic matters can be exercised only after consulting the Academic
Council and its views are obtained.
5.4.3 The Academic Council

The Academic Council is the principal academic authority of the university.
All decisions on programmes, courses, teaching methods, student
assessment systems, academic standards, creation of new departments, etc
are within the purview of the Academic Council. However, as we have said
in the previous section, the scheme of university management envisages a
sharing of powers and authority between the Executive Council and the
130 Academic Council, with the former enjoying a slight edge over the latter.
The Academic council is essentially a body comprising the academics of the Management of Hihger
university. It is chaired by the Vice-Chancellor and consists of the Pro-Vice- Education: Institutional
Level
Chancellor(s), all Deans, all Heads of Departments, representatives of the
Heads of affiliated institutions and colleges,and representatives of all
categories of teachers both from the Departments as well as affiliated
institutions, and in several cases, also of representatives of students.
Depending upon the size and nature of the university, the Academic Council
can be a body of 50-150 or more members. Where the number of teachers is
large, representation is provided normally through the method of election,
and where the number of teachers is small, a system of nomination or
rotation is followed.
The important functions of the Academic Council are:
• Laying down the academic policies of the university;
• Supervision over the implementation of the academic policy and giving
directions on methods of instruction, evaluation of research and
improvements in academic standards;
• Inter-faculty coordination for joint projects, programmes, etc;
• Recommending statutes/ordinances concerning academic matters like
establishment of departments, laboratories, research centres,
committees for admission and examinations, qualification of teachers,
award of degrees, diplomas and other qualifications, conduct of
examinations, institution of scholarships, student fees, etc.
Generally, the universities will also have a set of academic regulations that
provide for procedures to be followed in various matters like admission,
examination, declaration of results, etc. These regulations are also framed by
the Academic Council. To the extent that statutes, ordinances and
regulations are internal legislations, they require the approval of the
Executive Council.
5.4.4 Faculty/Schools
As knowledge expands, and the number of disciplines and specialisations
within them multiply, it becomes difficult for large bodies like the Academic
Council to usefully devote attention to all the academic problems and
concerns of all the disciplines. As a measure of decentralisation of the
academic decision-making processes, most universities have constituted
faculties or schools to take care of these problems leaving the Academic
Council with the larger issue of broad supervision. Faculties/Schools
generally comprise related or cognate departments and subjects, and
function with a broad measure of autonomy.
Usually, a Faculty/School consists of the disciplines or subjects assigned to it

by the Academic Council and consists of the Dean, all Professors in the
Faculty, all Heads of Departments, representatives of different categories of
teachers (Associate Professors and Assistant Professors), representatives of
teachers from other faculties, and a small number of external experts.
The major functions of the Faculty/School are:
• Coordination of teaching and research in the departments assigned to
the Faculty;
• Promotion of inter-disciplinary teaching and research;
131
Management of Higher • Prescribing courses of study and their syllabi;
Education
• Appointment of Boards of Studies and Committees for undertaking
research projects;
• Recommending the scheme of examinations and the methods of
assessment of student performance.
The Faculties consisting of the members mentioned above generally
function as the Boards of Studies in the concerned disciplines. Wherever
new programmes and courses are proposed, the recommendations of the
Faculty/School go to the Academic Council for approval/ratification. In that
sense, the Faculty/School should be considered as a sub-system of the
Academic Council with no independent authority or power of its own.

What conflicts do you visualize in the functioning of the Executive Council
and Academic Council? (answer in about 40 words)
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
5.4.5 The Court (Senate)

The structure of governance described above is the pattern that has
emerged in the last four decades or so in India. Prior to that, most
universities had a Court (for Central Universities) and Senate (for State
universities). This body was the supreme authority of a university. It
worked in the older days, but with the growing complexity in the
functioning of universities, there was a review and reformulation of the
composition, powers and functions of this body.
Traditionally, the Court/Senate consisted of a cross section of the academic

community (teachers, administrators and students) and representatives of
different sections of the society outside the university (legislators, civil
society, representatives of business/industry, the learned professions, former
students, and so on). All decisions taken by various organs of the university
were subject to ratification by this body; it could also disapprove their
decisions that could cause considerable tension within the university
community. Over a period of time, this practice became difficult to follow
as Court’s ratification of all decisions could not be taken for granted. Where
the Courts disapproved the decisions, friction followed and the smooth
functioning of the university became impossible.
Nevertheless, the significance of such a body, consisting as it does of a cross

section of the larger society and members of the university community, was
not lost sight of. After all, a university existed for the society, and the needs,
requirements and aspirations of that society should find fulfilment from the
activities of the university. A body like the Court (Senate) did precisely that:
on the one hand, it reflected the society’s expectations through the
members representing the larger society, and, on the other, it provided a
132 window of opportunity to the university community to inform the general
society about its policies, programmes and problems. This function of Management of Hihger
building bridges, of reviewing programmes and policies on the basis of Education: Institutional
Level
informed views and making them responsive to social needs was
considered a vital for the management of the university.
In recognition of this role, the Court (Senate) in later legislations was

designated as a ‘deliberative’ body reviewing policies and programmes,
making suggestions for improvements and development, and to express
views on the overall performance of the university on the basis of its annual
performance reports. With this major change in its powers and functions,
the Court (Senate) continues to be a body provided in the Acts of most
universities in India. Their composition, as indicated above, also remains
more or less unchanged.
With this change in the functions and powers of the Court (Senate), it is no
more saddled with the burden of having to over-rule decisions of the
university. For that reason, some of the more recent legislations have
altogether dispensed with the provisions to constitute a Court (Senate) for
universities established under them.
5.4.6 Finance Committee

All universities have Finance Committees which prepare the budget, set the
ceilings of expenditure and manage the university finances. It decides on
investments of funds that may not be required for immediate expenditure,
considers and recommends purchase of equipment and stores, construction
of buildings, considers and makes recommendations on annual accounts,
and so on. The Finance committee of a university is not an independent
decision-making body; its primary role is to advise and make
recommendations on all financial matters for consideration by the
Executive Council which alone can make decisions on them. Some Acts
provide that certain matters that involve continuing financial commitments
like creation of new positions and revision of pay scales should not be
considered by the Executive Council unless the Finance Committee has
considered them in the first place, and made its recommendations.
The Finance Committee is chaired by the Vice-Chancellor. But its most

important members are the nominees (mostly officers) of the government
that provides the finances. There are, in addition, one or wo members of
the Executive Council and one or two external members on the Finance
Committee. In actual practice, however, the nominees of the funding
agencies play a dominant role in the proceedings of the Finance Committee.
5.4.7 Other Models of Governance

What we have discussed so far is the pattern of governance that prevails in
Indian universities at present. This pattern could be said to belong to the
liberal tradition that marked the governance of British universities.
However, there are variations to this pattern, specially in respect of the
professional universities as well as the Institutions of National Importance.
For example, the pattern of governance of the Indian Institutes of
Technology (IITs) which are Institutions of National Importance is as
follows:
• The Board of Governors is responsible for the general superintendence,

direction and control of the affairs of each IIT. It consists of:
• The Chairman to be nominated by the Visitor; 133

Management of Higher • The Director ex-officio;
Education
• One person from among technologists or industrialists of repute to be
nominated by the government of each of the states comprising the
zone in which the institute is located;
• Four persons having special knowledge or practical experience in
engineering or science education to be nominated by the Council of
IITs;
• Two Professors of the Institute, to be nominated by the Senate
(Academic Council).
A Council of IITs, chaired by the Union Minister in charge of higher
technical education, and consisting of the Chairmen and Directors of all IITs
and a few experts in science and technology education decides the general
policies concerning the procedures for admission of students, recruitment
of teachers and their service conditions and similar other common
concerns.
Interestingly, the Chief Executive (Director) is not the Chairman of the
managing body as in the universities where the Vice-Chancellor is also the
Chairman of the Executive Council.
Another significant feature of the composition of the Board of Governors is
that unlike in universities, it does not have members of political parties and
bureaucrats representing the government. In the absence of power brokers
within the Board discussions can and do take place in an objective and
professional manner.
Further, in the university system, an aggrieved person has practically no
court of appeal; the Vice-Chancellor who has made a decision is unlikely to
let the issue be discussed freely in a meeting that he/she chairs. In the IIT
system, the Board acts as an effective channel to get any grievance against
the Director discussed.
One of the administrative innovations in the IIT system is the creation of the
posts of functional deans such as Dean of Academic Affairs, Research and
Development, Student Affairs, etc. in contrast to faculty-based deanships
prevalent in the universities. It has helped to promote interdisciplinary
efforts and effective management through better coordination.
The agricultural universities in India also have a somewhat different
structure. They have Boards of Management and no Courts (Senates). They
are involved in major extension activities and therefore have significantly
larger association with the local communities in their work and
management.

What are the major differences you have observed in the governance of
IITs to that of the Universities? (answer in about 40 words)
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
134
Management of Hihger
5.5 THE PEOPLE WHO MANAGE THE Education: Institutional
Level
UNIVERSITIES
In the previous sections, we have looked at the corporate structure of the
university, and the powers and functions of its decision-making bodies. By
their very nature, these bodies cannot be expected to run the day-to-day
working of the university and to remain responsible and accountable for all
that they do. This responsibility vests with the officers of the university. We
shall now consider who these people are, how they are appointed and what
functions they perform in the management of the university.
5.5.1 The Visitor/Chancellor

We have seen in the previous unit that the state performs a broad
supervisory function over the universities it has set up. However, in the
exercise of this supervisory function, an effort is made to distance the
political executive from the university management. This objective is
achieved by vesting the supervisory function with the Head of State,
President of India in the case of Central Universities and Governors of
States in the case of state universities. The university legislations make these
provisions.
The Visitor/Chancellor performs the following functions:
• Appointment of the Vice-Chancellor;
• Nomination of the specified number of members on the Executive
Council/Syndicate;
• Approval/disapproval of statutes and ordinances, including
amendments to them;
• Institution of inquiries into mismanagement, if any;
• Adjudication of appeals against the decision of the university which are
perceived to be in violation of the university law.
These functions are vested in an authority outside the university to ensure
objectivity and fairness in their performance. Distancing the political
executive from the processes associated with the performance of these
functions strengthens this view. Nevertheless, the fact that, according to the
Indian constitution, the Head of State has to perform his/her functions on
the advice of the Council of Ministers, makes this distance more symbolic
than real. At any rate, the Visitor - Chancellor cannot be conceived as
officers of the university in the sense that they belong to the category of
people who manage the universities. Then, who are the real managers? We
shall now turn to them.
5.5.2 The Chancellor

The Central universities have a statutory office of Chancellor who is the
Head of the University. An eminent person in public life is appointed to this
office by the Visitor on the recommendation of the Executive Council. He/
she presides over the meetings of the Court and the convocations of the
university, and does not perform any other functions or exercise any power.
The state universities do not have a corresponding statutory office. The
Governor, who is the Chancellor, also performs these roles. To that extent,
he/she is deemed to be an officer of the university. This duality in the role of
the Chancellor’s office in state universities has often caused considerable
ambiguity and confusion. 135
Management of Higher 5.5.3 The Vice-Chancellor
Education
The Vice-Chancellor is the principal administrative and academic head
(Chief Executive Officer) of the university. He/she is normally a scholar-
administrator, and is the keeper of the university’s conscience, and
committed to the university’s pursuit of scholarship and of truth. He/she
has a crucial role to play in the successful functioning of the university. The
success with which a university is able to function effectively and efficiently
in the fulfilment of its mission depends largely on him/her. The term of
appointment of a Vice-Chancellor of a central university is five years; in
state universities, it is generally three years, and in some cases, four years. It
is seldom that a Vice-Chancellor gets a second term. The main functions of
a Vice-Chancellor are the following:
• The Vice-Chancellor is ex-officio the Chairman of the Executive
Council (Syndicate or Board of Management) and the Academic
Council as well as the Finance Committee and other statutory bodies
like the Planning Board and Selection Committees;
• As the Chief Executive, he/she is responsible for ensuring that the
university functions in accordance with the provisions of the Acts,
statutes, ordinances and regulations;
• He/she is responsible for ensuring discipline among teachers, staff and
students;
• In an emergency, he/she can exercise any power of any authority and
report the matter to the authority concerned for ratification of the
action/decision;
• He/she can delegate his/her powers to other officers.
The Vice-Chancellors of Indian universities are appointed by the Visitor/
Chancellor from a panel of names recommended by a committee of
eminent persons specially constituted for the purpose. These committees
normally have three members – two nominated by the Executive Council,
and one by the Visitor/Chancellor. The committee recommends a panel of
three or more persons from whom the Visitor/Chancellor selects one.
Generally, the person to be appointed is recommended by the Government
to the Visitor/Chancellor.
5.5.4 The Pro-Vice-Chancellor/Rector

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor/Rector is the second level executive officer in a
university, who is appointed by the Executive ouncil on the
recommendation of the Vice-Chancellor. In most cases, he/she is selected
from among the senior Professors of the university though appointments
from outside is also possible. He/she exercises the powers and performs the
duties that are prescribed by the university or are delegated by the Vice-
Chancellor.
The term of office of the PVC/Rector is generally laid down by the statutes;
it is normally three or five years, and, in any case, is co-terminus with the
office of the Vice-Chancellor.
The PVC/Rector is expected to share the responsibilities of the Vice-

Chancellor in the areas assigned to him/her. He/she also officiates for the
Vice-Chancellor when the latter is away from the headquarters on official
business or on leave. Hence, the prime function of the PVC/Rector is a kind
of partnership with the Vice-Chancellor to ensure the effective functioning
136 of the university.
5.5.5 The Deans Management of Hihger
Dean of the faculty is the Head of a faculty and is responsible to the Vice- Level
Chancellor for the organisation of the teaching and research programmes
as well as maintenance of the standards of teaching, research and extension
functions in the faculty that comprises several Departments. A Dean is
normally appointed from among the Professors in the Departments that
comprise the faculty for a period of 2-3 years through a system of rotation
according to seniority or any other means.
5.5.6 The Registrar

The position of Registrar who is the head of the administrative wing of the
university is a key position. He/she leads the university’s civil service, is the
custodian of all university records, and represents the university in all its
dealings with the outside world. He/she is ex-officio the Secretary of all
statutory bodies of the university, issues notices for their meetings, prepares
the agenda and also the minutes of their meetings. These key functions of
the Registrar enable him/her to occupy a position of pre-eminence in the
university management. He/she is privy to all decisions taken at the
meetings of various bodies, and has easy and quick access to all records
which together make him/her the most knowledgeable person as far as the
university management is concerned. For that reason, he/she is in a position
to render useful advice to the Vice-Chancellor and members of various
authorities.
The Registrar is normally appointed by the Executive Council (Syndicate)

on the recommendation of a Selection Committee presided over by the
Vice-Chancellor. Once appointed, he/she holds office till retirement.
However, in recent times, appointment to this office is also being made for
short tenures of 5 years at a time. Although this method of appointment
continues to be in vogue in several universities, the state governments, in
some cases, have taken over the responsibility for appointment of Registrar.
Where, in a state, there are several universities, a system of transfer of
Registrars from one university to another is also in vogue.
5.5.7 The Finance Officer

The Finance Officer is the manager of the university’s fund and properties.
The finance management practices in the universities in India were
traditionally confined to judiciously managing the expenditure since the
largest single source of income was the grants given by the governments
(almost 90-95% of the total income). This required proper preparation of
the budget, setting the ceiling for every item of expenditure, and ensuring
that the expenditure did not go beyond the ceilings so set. The pre-
occupation of university finance departments was more with accounting
and monitoring the observance of the procedures than with mobilising
resources and managing the finances.
Since the Finance Officer is a key functionary in university management,

and is responsible mainly for managing government funds, an officer from
the government used to be appointed on deputation to this position by the
universities. It also helped universities maintain close liaison with the
government departments in securing timely release of funds, and at times,
getting a more sympathetic ear to the demands of the universities for more
funds. In recent times, some state governments take it upon themselves to
appoint the Finance Officer. The finance officers so appointed are not
137
Management of Higher employees of the university, and are outside its disciplinary jurisdiction,
Education thus creating new power centres within universities. Though this practice
amounted to the university’s loss of freedom to choose its Finance Officer,
given the dependence on the state for funds, it has to go by the wishes of the
governments.

Why distancing the political executive from university management is more
symbolic than real? (answer in about 40 words)
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
5.6 THE MANAGEMENT OF COLLEGES

While discussing the Indian higher education system, we have repeatedly
made references to “colleges”, which constitute over 98% of the system in
terms of the number of institutions, and over 80% in terms of enrolment.
Any discussion on the management of higher education will not be
complete unless one looks also at the management of these colleges.
College education started in the middle ages when the then Muslim rulers
set up “Madrasas” for the study of history, philosophy, Arabic and Persian.
Towards the end of the 17th century, the British rulers set up more such
institutions for the study of English language, grammar, law, geometry,
arithmetic and also Sanskrit language. By the middle of the 18th century,
many more institutions came up for teaching western education, especially
European literature and science. Through the 18th and 19th centuries,
several Christian missions founded a number of institutions, mainly to train
teachers to begin with, and later to teach European literature, philosophy
and science. By the mid-19th century, as we have noted, there were a
number of colleges in India offering education in a variety of disciplines and
subjects associated with western education along with a number of what
was then known as the “oriental colleges”.
One of the major issues that prompted the establishment of universities in

India was the need to encourage a regular and liberal course of education
by conferring academic degrees as evidence of attainment in different
branches of science and arts. The universities were established on the
London University model, conferring degrees upon persons coming from
any affiliated institution, has pursued a regular course of study for a given
time and has passed the prescribed examination. This was the original
affiliating university model in which all teaching was conducted at colleges.
We have already discussed the working of this model and therefore we shall
move straightaway to look at the management of these colleges.
138
5.6.1 Types of Colleges Management of Hihger
In the previous unit, we have had a brief discussion on the relationship Level
between the state governments and the colleges. We had mentioned then
that colleges were mainly established by the governments or private trusts or
societies. We shall now elaborate on these types.
A government college is one directly established and run by a state

government. It functions like any other government department. The
expenditure of the college is met directly by the government, through
appropriations voted by the legislature; all the teachers and staff are
government employees. All their terms and conditions of service are they
same as are applicable to the civil service (recruitment, promotion,
retirement and staff benefits). Perhaps, one major departure from the
conditions of service of civil servants is that teachers in government colleges
have vacations.
A private college is established by a Trust or Society registered under the

relevant laws of the country. This registration is essential to give the college a
legal status. The management of the college then vests in the Trustees, or in
the governing body of the society. The Trust Deed or the Memorandum of
Association of the Society would provide for the composition of the Board of
Trustees or the Governing Body, and the manner of administering the college
and its properties. The promoters of the Trust or Society make the initial
investments on land, buildings, equipment and staff. In the early stages of
expansion of higher education in India, many among these colleges sought
and secured financial support from state governments for their maintenance.
State governments framed grant-in-aid codes or made legislations to
regulate the regime of grants as in many cases, the states’ share of
expenditure on many of these private colleges went as high as 80-90% of the
total revenue expenditure.
As we noted earlier, there has been a significant change in this pattern of

financing private colleges. As the demand for higher education places,
especially in professional education programmes (engineering, medical and
education), rose rapidly and the states found that they could not respond
fully to meet these demands, a new category of private institutions were
permitted. These are the self-financing colleges that function with no state
support and meeting their expenditure from full cost recoveries. It should,
however, be noted that these colleges are not allowed to make any profits as
education in India is not considered a commercial activity. We have
discussed the implications of this approach elsewhere and shall not repeat it
here.
There is another category of colleges called the university colleges. These are
established and maintained by the universities themselves either on their
own campuses or elsewhere in their jurisdiction. Generally, universities do
not, on their own, establish colleges; when a new university is established,
the state governments transfer the management of certain colleges
maintained by them in its jurisdiction to the university. Such an arrangement
ensures that a new university has well established infrastructure and
teaching programmes from the very beginning and that fresh investments
can be minimised on creating new facilities. With the transfer of the
management to the university, the colleges become integral parts of the
university concerned and all their funding comes from the university. Such
an arrangement helps some well known colleges to maintain their identity.
In some cases, they are also known as constituent colleges.
139
Management of Higher 5.6.2 Colleges and the Universities
Education
More than a century and a half back, the British said that the purpose of
establishing universities in India was to encourage education in European
languages and science by conferring degrees on those who have shown
evidence of having pursued a course of study in an affiliated institution and
has passed the prescribed examination. It is unfortunate that this notion of
passing an examination and securing a degree continues to dominate the
psyche of many Indian students who enrol in colleges. It is this relationship
between the university and the college that is known as ‘affiliation’.
What are the main features of this affiliation? Most Indian universities
require the fulfilment of the following conditions:
• The college should have a legal status (the management should be by a
government or a registered Trust or Society);
• It should be providing instruction for courses of study prescribed by
the university;
• It should have the infrastructure and staff to organise and conduct
teaching according to the standards prescribed by the university;
• Teachers should have qualifications laid down by the university;
• The management should undertake to meet all the expenditure
required for the maintenance of the college.
There could be a long list of these conditions going into minute details of
several requirements. It is the fulfilment of these requirements that earns
for the college the status of affiliation. And once affiliated, all that the college
has to do is to teach the courses prescribed by the university according to
the syllabi set by it. After completing the courses prescribed by the
university, the college can present the students at the university-held
examinations, and those who qualify will get the degree.
We have already said that in this scheme, teachers in colleges have no
initiative left to them to decide what to teach and how. This situation often
leads to lack of enthusiasm in teaching and indifferent teacher-student
interaction. These in turn have serious consequences for the quality of
education.
5.6.3 Autonomous Colleges
In order to remedy some of the inadequacies of the affiliating system that
we just mentioned, a proposal to convert several colleges into autonomous
institutions was seriously canvassed in the National Policy on Education
1986. The substance of this proposal was a transformation of the existing
university-college relationship in which colleges could take up a lot more
initiative while maintaining their affiliated status. The proposal involved:
• The university concerned declares selected colleges as autonomous
colleges after satisfying itself about the record of its performance, its
commitment to quality, teachers’ qualifications and attainments, the
quality of management and its capacity to raise resources.
• On such declaration, the college would be free to prescribe its own
courses of study, design the curricula, determine the teaching methods
and practices, hold its own examinations and decide its own student
assessment systems.
140 • The university concerned will award the degrees.

The response to this scheme was less than enthusiastic. Though it was Management of Hihger
envisaged that about 500 colleges would become autonomous during the Education: Institutional
Level
period up to 1990 (there were over 5700 colleges then), the figure has
reached the 150 mark only at the end of 1999 (the total number of colleges
had gone up to nearly 10,000 by then). In the next ten years another 100
colleges became autonomous but the total number of colleges had gone up
to over 20,000. It is interesting to observe that of the 250 autonomous
colleges in the country, about one-third are in a single state, namely, Tamil
Nadu. What are the reasons for this tardy progress? There are several
reasons:
• College teachers see the proposal as a device to break their collective

strength by separating the managements of several colleges from the
existing unified management structure of the affiliating university;
• Teachers and employees feel that the management of colleges
(government and private) will become arbitrary as they will go out of
the governing discipline of the university;
• Teachers apprehend an increase in their workload with no
corresponding benefits;
• Students fear that their load will increase and they will have more to
learn;
• Innovative assessment systems introduced by the autonomous colleges
could be more demanding for the students as against the prevailing
year-end examinations;
• Some universities are reluctant to lose their more prestigious institutions
from their hold.
Whatever the reasons, the fact remains that a necessary and innovative
reform which would have brought the college teachers centre stage in higher
education is languishing for want of support from those for whom it was
designed and developed.
5.6.4 Management of Colleges

We will conclude this discussion with a brief mention of the system of
management of colleges in India. We mentioned earlier that colleges are
established by governments, universities or private Trusts or Societies. We
also noted that each college has to be a distinct legal entity. While the
government and university colleges are managed by the parent governments
or universities, it is the management of the private colleges that we shall
focus on.
The UGC has prescribed guidelines for universities for granting affiliation to
colleges. These guidelines require that each college should satisfy a range of
requirements varying from the provision of adequate infrastructure (land,
buildings, teachers and staff, books and equipment, and so on) to its
management structure. The pattern of management of colleges other than
those managed by governments and universities suggested in the guidelines
is:
• It should be managed by a Society or Trust registered under the
Societies Act or the Trust Act;
• It should have a managing body with its composition, powers and
functions specified in the Memorandum of Association or Trust Deed; 141
Management of Higher • It should have the powers to raise resources, own properties, engage
Education people and should remain accountable to the university that grants
affiliation.
While the Society or Trust and the managing body created by it are the legal
owners of the institution, its day-to-day management will be in the hands of
people who run the college. They are;
• A Principal who is the head of the college. The method of his
appointment, the qualifications required of a person to be appointed as
Principal, the broad terms and conditions of his appointment, etc have
to be specified with the approval of the university. Generally, the
appointment is made on the recommendation of a selection committee
constituted in accordance with the pattern prescribed by the university,
and with its approval.
• There could be one or more Vice-Principals to assist the Principal
appointed from among the senior teachers of the college.
• An administrative officer who would be the administrative head of the
university and personnel required for the college administration and
maintenance of accounts, etc

What are the key functions of an autonomous college which distinguishes
to that of a college affiliated to a rent? (answer in about 40 words)
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
5.7 LET US SUM UP

This unit dealt with, in some detail, the micro-management of higher
education at the institutional level. We have considered the organisational
structure of universities and colleges in India, their governing patterns and
management structures and also the relationships among various
constituents of the large structures. These discussions have been presented
to provide with a deeper understanding of the institutional structures on
the one hand, and the eople who manage the institutions, on the other. We
hope that this presentation would have given you a better appreciation of
the principles and values that constitute the culture of higher education
management. The last two units of this block would have provided you some
insights into the making of that culture which distinguish the management
142 of education from the profession of managing business and industry.
Management of Hihger
5.8 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS: POSSIBLE Education: Institutional
Level
ANSWERS
i) To start with affiliating university issues was only examining body,
without teaching of its own. Very soon affiliating universities started
teaching on the campuses along with affiliating colleges in their
jurisdiction. Unitary universities do not affiliate colleges, rather they
teach PG concern and offer research programme on campuses.
ii) The University of Delhi is basically a Federal University with PG
campuses and constituent colleges in large number. Over a period of
time the structure got complicated with affiliated colleges in addition to
constituent colleges.

The UGC had prescribed rigorous criteria and process for declaring any
institution as a deemed university. This was followed for initial two decades
of the provision was made. However the situation changed in the last two
decades, with emergence of self-financing professional institutions, led to
the dilution of criteria and process by UGC and the GOI. The member of
deemed universities rose to 130 by 2009; whose member was 18 in the initial
two decades of the scheme; itself speaks the quality of the deemed
universities and recent controversises surrounded by them.

Though the administrative and financial decisions with the Executive
Council (E.C.), when it comes to Academic matters the E.C. has to consult
before taking any major decisions. If E.C. doesn’t do then that may lead to
conflict between the two learning making authorities which is not good for
university’s functioning.

The first major difference is the Vice-Chancellor is the Chair of Executive
Council, whereas Board of Governors of IIT is Chaired by a person
nominated by the Visitor of the IIT. The other main differences unlike in the
Universities Board of Governors of IIT doesn’t have member of political
parties and bureaucrats representing the government, which provides scope
for discussion in an objective manner.

Visitor/Chancellors functions from outside the University brings in
objectivity and fairness, and thus distancing the political executive from
University manages it. However, according to the Constitution Visitor/
Chancellor has to function on the advice of the Council of Minsters makes
the distancing political executive is more.

The important functions of a autonomous college is – prescribe its on courses
of study, design the curricula, decide the teaching methods and practices and
decide its own student assessment systems and conduct its own
examinations. These functions distinguish autonomous college to that of a
general college.
143
Education 5.9 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS
(Given below are the titles which have been used to prepare this Block. It is NOT
suggested that you should go looking for these books to study them in original. If
you can manage, you may look for a few titles, but they are not obligatory for
completing the course successfully.)
Altbach, P.G. (1982). Higher Education in the Third World: Themes and Variations,
Regional Institute of Higher Education and Development, Maruzen, Singapore.
Clark, B. (1980). ‘The Organisational Saga in Higher Education’, in H. Learitt (Ed)
Readings in Managerial Psychology, Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Hatch, M.J. (1997). Organisation Theory, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Haworth, J.G., and Conrad (1997). Qluality in Higher Education: Developing
and Sustaining High Quality Programmes, Boston: Allyn and Bacan.
IGNOU (1997). INTEND-OPENET, New Delhi: IGNOU.
Mageza (1993). Mobilization and Management of Financial Resources in Higher
Education, IIEP Workshop, Mauritius.
Mukhopadhyay, M and Parhar, M. (1995). ‘Educational Technology in Higher
Education’, in Powar K.B., and Panda, S.K. (eds). Higher Education in
India: In Search of Quality, New Delhi: AIU.
Murthy, C.R.K., and Ramanujam, P.R., Internal Evaluation Report, Rajiv Gandhi
Fellowship Scheme, COL and IGNOU, New Delhi, 1997.
NIEP A (1985). National Commission on Teachers in Higher Education, National
Institute of Educational Planning and Administration; New Delhi.
Page, T. and Thomas, J.B. (1977). International Dictionary of Education, New
York: Kogan Page.
Planning Commission (1996). Policy Frame and Programmes of the UGC,
Working Group on Higher Education, Planning Commission, UGC, New
Delhi: June.
Powar, K.B.(1995). ‘Higher Education in India’ in Powar, K.B., and Panda,
S.K.(eds). Higher Education in India: In Search of Quality, New Delhi: AIU.
Ribbins, P. (Ed) (1997). Leaders and Leadership in the School, College and
University, London: Cassell.
Salmi, Jamil (1991). The Higher Education Crises in Developing Countries, PHREE
Background Paper Series, May.
Sanyal, B.C. (1994 a). Institutional Management: Trends in Developed and Asian
Countries, Module for Sub-Regional IIEP Workshop on Institutional
Management in Higher Education at Brunei-Darussalam.
Sanyal, B.C. (1994 b). Managing Change in Higher Educational Institutes: Issues and
Case Studies, (Research Project Report), Paris: IIEP.
Sanyal, B.C. (1995). Innovations in University Management, Paris: IIEP.

Siddiqui, M. (1990). Programme for Reform of University Education, paper
presented at Academy of Educational Planning and Management, Islamabad.
144
Singh, A. (1998). UGC on the Wrong Track, The Hindustan Times, February 24, Management of Hihger
1998. Education: Institutional
Level
Sudha Rao, K. (1998). ‘Vocationalisation of Higher Education’ in Powar, K.B. and
Panda, S.K.(Eds) Higher Education in India: In Search of Quality, New
Delhi: AIU.
Singh, R.P. (1998). Indian Universities: Towards Nation Building, New Delhi:
University Grants Commission.
UGC (1971). Report of the Committee (Gajendra Gadkar Committee) on Governance
of Universities and Colleges, UGC, New Delhi.
UGC (1986). Revised Guidelines on the Scheme of Autonomous Colleges, UGC,
New Delhi.
UGC (1990). Report of the Committee: Towards New Educational Management,
Report of the UGC Committee, UGC, New Delhi.
UGC (1992). Report on UGC Funding of Institutions of Higher Education (Punnaya
Committee), New Delhi: University Grants Commission.
UGC (1996-97). Annual Report of 1994-95, New Delhi: UGC.

UGC (1997). Annual Report of 1995-96, New Delhi, UGC.
The World Bank (1998). World Development Indicators, The World Bank.
UNESCO (1996). World Guide to Higher Education: A Comparative Survey of
Systems, Degrees and Qualification, Third Edition, UNESCO Publishing
House.
UNESCO (1996). The Learning: The Treasure Within, Report to UNESCO of
the International Commission on Education for the Twenty first century,
UNESCO, Paris.
Vohra, A.L. and Sharma, S.R. (1991). Management of Higher Education in India,
New Delhi: Anmol Publications. .
Zagier, Roberts, V. (1994). The Organisation of Work: Contributions from Open

Systems Thoery in A.Obholzer and V. Zagir Roberts (Eds), The Unconscious
at Work, London: Routledge.
145

Unit 5 Management of Higher Education: Institutional Level: Structure

Uploaded by

Unit 5 Management of Higher Education: Institutional Level: Structure

Uploaded by

Management of Higher

Education UNIT 5 MANAGEMENT OF HIGHER

5.3 UNIVERSITIES: THE ORGANISATIONAL

Around the same period, a number of institutions, founded primarily to

The constitutional dispensation that we outlined briefly in the previous unit,

On a functional basis, institutions of higher education consist of multi-

We shall now take a close look at the different types of universities

5.3.2 Universities According to Roles/Functions

There are 27 Agricultural universities in India. Initially, the intention was to

Institutions of National Importance

Similar institutions were established in medical education and research; the

Check Your Progress 2

Briefly stated, autonomy of a university is its freedom to organise and

The concept of education and hence of educational institutions has

It needs to be emphasised again that autonomy is not a legal or

These two distinctive types of management functions are reflected in the

With this understanding of a significant complexity in the structure and

5.4.2 The Executive Council

5.4.3 The Academic Council

Usually, a Faculty/School consists of the disciplines or subjects assigned to it

Check Your Progress 3

5.4.5 The Court (Senate)

Traditionally, the Court/Senate consisted of a cross section of the academic

Nevertheless, the significance of such a body, consisting as it does of a cross

In recognition of this role, the Court (Senate) in later legislations was

5.4.6 Finance Committee

The Finance Committee is chaired by the Vice-Chancellor. But its most

5.4.7 Other Models of Governance

• The Board of Governors is responsible for the general superintendence,

• The Chairman to be nominated by the Visitor; 133

Check Your Progress 4

5.5.1 The Visitor/Chancellor

5.5.2 The Chancellor

5.5.4 The Pro-Vice-Chancellor/Rector

The PVC/Rector is expected to share the responsibilities of the Vice-

5.5.6 The Registrar

The Registrar is normally appointed by the Executive Council (Syndicate)

5.5.7 The Finance Officer

Since the Finance Officer is a key functionary in university management,

Check Your Progress 5

5.6 THE MANAGEMENT OF COLLEGES

One of the major issues that prompted the establishment of universities in

A government college is one directly established and run by a state

A private college is established by a Trust or Society registered under the

As we noted earlier, there has been a significant change in this pattern of

140 • The university concerned will award the degrees.

• College teachers see the proposal as a device to break their collective

5.6.4 Management of Colleges

Check Your Progress 6

5.7 LET US SUM UP

Check Your Progress 2

Check Your Progress 3

Check Your Progress 4

Check Your Progress 5

Check Your Progress 6

Sanyal, B.C. (1995). Innovations in University Management, Paris: IIEP.

UGC (1996-97). Annual Report of 1994-95, New Delhi: UGC.

Zagier, Roberts, V. (1994). The Organisation of Work: Contributions from Open

You might also like