Maharashtra’s first skill university allowed to have affiliated colleges

Mumbai: At a time when the state’s higher and technical education department is pushing for greater integration of skill-based education into traditional courses, the Maharashtra State Commission for Higher Education and Development (MAHED) on Thursday approved a proposal allowing the state’s first skill university to have affiliated colleges. The skill university comes under the department of skill development and entrepreneurship. Until now, the university functioned as a unitary model without affiliated colleges.

MAHED, headed by the chief minister, usually meets around Aug-Sept, but a special meeting was convened to discuss the proposal from the skills university, said sources. MAHED has approved the proposal, while cautioning against the mushrooming of institutes, added sources.

Ratan Tata Maharashtra State Skills University, which is regulated by the department of skill development, had moved a proposal to start around 19 colleges that will offer skill-oriented undergraduate and postgraduate courses. According to the central govt norms, skill universities can have up to 200 such centres. The skill university presented its plan based on the proposals they received before the commission on Thursday, which was approved. Until now, it has operated as a unitary entity, offering undergraduate courses such as the B Voc. It did not have the powers of an affiliating university.

“While earlier it seemed like these courses would overlap with the courses offered by traditional colleges under the higher and technical education department, which are also trying to integrate skill education, the skill department has clarified that it will not. The idea is to create a competitive atmosphere and allow the best institutions to survive,” said an official. The higher education department, under the National Education Policy, has been working towards making traditional courses more employable by adding skill components. Last year, it also pushed colleges to offer apprenticeship-embedded degree programmes. While there were not many takers last year, the numbers are likely to increase this year.

An official from the state’s skills university, though, said that a massive investment is happening across industries and therefore, the state would need skilled manpower across sectors. “Our idea is to build courses around this requirement and provide trained manpower to the industries. There will not be any overlap with the existing courses offered by the traditional courses. Ours will be niche courses offering skills,” said the official, adding the nomenclature for these courses have not been decided yet.

Several colleges affiliated to traditional state universities also offer B Voc courses. However, the demand for such courses did not pick up as expected. The higher and technical education department also got perspective plan related to engineering and technological colleges approved in the meeting. It has also been decided that no new pharmacy college will be allowed in the state.