The new cluster university in south Mumbai is set to be called Dr Homi Bhabha University after the notable alumnus of the Institute of Science, the lead college in the cluster.
A notification from the Centre is expected in a couple of months.
Colleges currently affiliated to Mumbai University can switch to the new university, said Vasant Helavi, director of Institute of Science. “The huge sizes of public universities in the state have resulted in difficulties in managing the administration, affecting research, delaying exam results, and other goof-ups. The new university can help reduce the burden on Mumbai University,” he added.
Once all four colleges of the cluster university, including Sydenham and Elphinstone, cease to be part of Mumbai University and convert into an independent university, they will follow a separate admission process, curriculum, academic calendar, exam pattern, etc. drawn up by their own academic bodies. With fewer students in the new university, exam results could be announced within 15 days, giving a proper vacation to students as well as teachers, said an official. Helavi said a double blind assessment system will be introduced, where answer papers will be assessed by two teachers and an average of the marks will be awarded to the student. If there is a huge discrepancy, it will be assessed by a third evaluator, he said.
Students of the four colleges as well as others that seek affiliation with the cluster university will get degrees in the name
of Dr Homi Bhabha University (pending final notification) instead of Mumbai University. An official from RUSA said students need to be sensitised about this major change in their degrees.
While the new university’s administration is prepared to split with the parent university at the earliest, a government official said students from each of the colleges must be notified about the new name. The new university can start functioning soon after the Centre notifies it. It is expected to use the infrastructure available with the colleges currently.
Among other reforms, Helavi said they would introduce more practicals-based learning even for traditional arts, science and commerce courses and make internships mandatory. Starting a host of new post-graduate departments and allowing students to benefit from the specialty of the four colleges is also in the pipeline.
