Demand grows to accord Central University status to AU

Visakhapatnam: As Andhra University prepares to celebrate its centenary in April, calls have grown louder for the institution to be granted Central University status. Several alumni and former faculty members have voiced concerns about the university's long-term sustainability amid severe faculty and funding shortages, coupled with deteriorating infrastructure, as it marks 100 years of existence on April 26.Some former professors and vice-chancellors believe that granting Central University status would secure the institution's future and strengthen its academic and administrative autonomy. Such a move would enable greater access to central funding, national research missions, and collaborative academic programmes. It would also facilitate regular faculty recruitment and infrastructure development, allowing the university to compete more effectively with leading institutions.The university presently has only about 20 percent of the required regular faculty strength. The block grant provided by the state govt is barely sufficient to cover salaries and pensions, while internal revenue generation has steadily declined. Over the past two decades, nearly every district in Andhra Pradesh has established its own state university, and in the last 15 years several private institutions have entered the higher education landscape.The absence of faculty recruitment for at least the past 15 years has severely affected teaching and research output at AU, impacting academic standing and brand value. Simultaneously, infrastructure — including academic buildings, laboratories, and basic amenities — has aged across the historic campus, which served the educational needs of the entire coastal Andhra Pradesh region even before Independence. Apart from engineering and a few select programmes, demand for admissions has declined significantly.Interestingly, a similar proposal to grant Central University status was widely debated around 11-12 years ago during the UPA regime. Although it received mixed response at the time, many stakeholders now view it as a necessity in light of gradually deteriorating conditions and the growing challenges facing Andhra University.Speaking to TOI, Dr MS Reddy, a botany alumnus of Andhra University (1975-77) and currently a professor in the United States, said granting Central University status during its centenary year would secure AU's future and strengthen its academic and administrative autonomy. "Such a transition would significantly enhance its global academic reputation and rankings, enable greater access to central funding, national research missions, and international collaborations, and help attract world-class faculty and students. Above all, it would preserve and elevate a century-old national academic heritage," said Prof Reddy, who has also written to the state govt on the issue.Former registrar Prof V Umamaheswara Rao said Andhra University is grappling with acute faculty shortage, ageing infrastructure, and a gradual decline in rankings, despite high accreditation grades. "While student placements remain strong in select disciplines, overall academic quality has suffered. Restoring the university will require merit-based recruitment, greater institutional autonomy, closer industry-academia collaboration, financial self-reliance, and active alumni engagement. Strong and accountable leadership is essential to revive Andhra University and position Andhra Pradesh as a knowledge-driven economy," he opined.Prof EUB Reddy, former head of the department of environmental sciences, said long-term sustainability of the institution is critical, as a large proportion of its students come from below-poverty-line and middle-class families to realise their higher education dreams. "At this juncture, granting Central University status could revitalise Andhra University across multiple fronts, including faculty strength, funding, research opportunities, infrastructure development, and student amenities," he said.NEED OF THE HOURFaculty recruitment | Transform university recruitment board into an autonomous, merit-driven bodyTechnology integration | Establish a dedicated AI learning centre; offer interdisciplinary AI courses across software, agriculture, fisheries, and manufacturing sectorsInstitutional autonomy | Implement self-governance with a board of governors composed mainly of academicians and industry leaders; ban political campaigns on campusIndustry-academia collaboration | Align syllabi with industry needs through skill partnerships to make graduates job-readyAlumni engagement | Mobilise alumni contributions and corporate CSR funds for faculty, labs, and researchStudent welfare | Set up counselling centres, ensure timely fee reimbursements, and monitor attendance and learning outcomesGirls' education | Prioritise the provision of new girls' hostels for STEM students in the first phase, as announced in the Union budget; upgrade digital libraries with high-speed internet and international journalsIndustry linkages | Forge partnerships with pharma, IT, and steel industries; launch AVGC labs to equip students with market-ready skills