Maharashtra Universities Bill-A Backward Step

universities is surely an all-time understatement. The majority of the universities have not only failed to achieve any academic distinction but have in fact showed themselves incapable of smooth day-today operations. For most of them, terms do not begin on time, classes are not run properly, examinations are not conducted as per the time-table, results are not available for months. Libraries and laboratories are starved of essential inputs. Even faculty positions are not filled for years. These and many other shortcomings have by now become almost part of nature to most of Indian universities. In recent years, a rapidly expanding student body and dwindling state support have only turned a difficult situation into a near-impossible one. The universities in Maharashtra are no exception to the general situation in the country.