Keralam relaxes rules for autonomous college courses, drawing sharp political protest

Autonomous colleges in Keralam can now introduce new self-financing courses and increase seat counts without getting prior government approval, following a revised circular issued by the Higher Education Department on November 6. The new order withdraws an earlier circular from September 11 which had made government approval mandatory for starting new courses and increasing seats across government, aided, and autonomous aided colleges. Self-financing colleges must still renew their government NOCs every three years. Meanwhile, autonomous colleges and autonomous aided colleges can now launch unaided or self-financing courses and permanently increase seats without a government NOC. The rules still require government approval for new aided courses and permanent seat increases under the aided stream. University or regulatory authority approval remains mandatory for all new courses and seat increases in unaided and self-financing colleges.

Reactions

Higher Education Minister Roji M. John defended the policy change as a vital step to promote academic autonomy, remove bureaucratic delays, and modernise higher education. He stated that the relaxation applies only to academics and does not grant financial autonomy, noting that half of the seats in self-financing programmes will stay as merit seats under existing reservation rules. Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan claimed the decision allows private managements to add courses and seats without proper checks on infrastructure and regulatory compliance, while questioning the timing after a meeting between college managements and the minister. The Students Federation of India started protests across Keralam, with SFI State secretary P.S. Sanjeev alleging the move commercialises education and ignores public institutions. Conversely, Kerala Students Union State president Aloshious Xavier supported the government order, stating the previous administration failed to adapt to modern job demands and drove student migration.

Context

Controversies over self-financing courses and private management involvement are common in Keralam's education sector due to competing views on public access and institutional autonomy. Autonomous colleges generally receive freedom to design their own curricula while remaining affiliated with a parent university for degrees.