Autonomy and after

FR FRAZER MASCARENHAS, principal, St Xavier's College, Mumbai, underscores the importance of research at UG level.
While autonomy has helped usher in a slew of changes to the college's syllabus and pedagogy, according to Fr Frazer Mascarenhas, principal, St Xavier's College, Mumbai, the institute still finds it challenging to produce research. Says Mascarenhas, who has served the college in various capacities since 1988 and was instrumental in driving the college to achieve an autonomous status in 2011, "Though crossfaculty input and technological aids may have helped the authorities to tailor the curriculum for better learning outcomes, producing research, which is a widely accepted mark of an institute's academic merit, remains a challenge." He adds, "Teachers at the undergraduate level have a tremendous work load, making it difficult for them to balance time between teaching and research.In addition to 20 hours of lectures, they are also occupied with evaluating papers and monitoring extracurricular activities. To have researchers as teachers, the government has to take measures to reduce the workload of teachers carrying out research, such as reducing their lectures to 1012 a week." To enhance its research capability, the college plans to institute chairs in each department."By creating this extra position in each department, the work load of teachers should reduce, helping them to pursue research," says Mascarenhas. On how autonomy has impacted the college, he says, "Autonomy helped us mould our syllabus. The revised study pattern focuses on practical and continuous learning."