Mumbai University Management Council approves university network expansion plan

The Mumbai University Management Council review on Wednesday cleared the deck to open over 70 new colleges, to accomodate the higher number of enrolments. As per reports, the proposal for these additional colleges was received in the last academic year. The varsity has further given a nod to about 55 other affiliated colleges to boost their overall student enrolment, from the next academic session.

Pegged to be one of Maharashtra's leading universities, Mumbai University receives a heavy influx of admission forms, every academic session. However, just less than half are enrolled every year despite it's massive college network due to limited number of seats. WIth an aim to ensure seat availability for all, the MU Management Council has finally green-flagged the prospect of establishing new colleges.

Purpotedly, Mumbai University received about 90 proposals to start new colleges, most wanting to start a course in law. New applications for traditional programmes in commerce have also been filed. Notably, 17 of these did not get the approval, leaving a plan to set up over 70 new colleges. These drafts particularly show that colleges affiliated to MU were not only keen on starting courses but also adding more seats, especially in master's programmes.

Notably, the Mumbai University sent an 85-point perspective plan to the state, detailing its expansion policy and stating where the location of the new colleges. In response, however, the government sent back 225 points to the varsity, allowing it to increase the the enrolment and start new colleges.

After two pandemic years and slow university growth, the MU Council has received positive responses from colleges about their student enrolment numbers. A senior official of the university said that most institutes are optimistic that their application count is set to witness a rise this year.

Moving aheadw with the plan, a letter of intent will be sent to the approved institutes which will be followed by an inspection. Local inspection committees will visit colleges and check its faculty and facilities before giving the final approval.