z:\ ambedkar\vol-02\vol2-04.indd MK SJ+YS 21-9-2013/YS-8-11-2013 307
ON UNIVERSITY REFORMS 307
led everywhere the grouping of the several departments of study into what are called Faculties. I suggest therefore that the Departments in the new University of Bombay should be grouped into Faculties and the Faculties should be made the basis of the University organisation if our University is to be a teaching University. A faculty should consist, either wholly or mainly of the Professors and Assistant Professors of the subjects comprised within the Faculty ; and of such other teachers and officers appointed by the University as the Faculty may co-opt. The Vice-Chancellor should ex- officio be a member of every faculty. A Faculty should have the power to make Regulations—
(i) to appoint Committees consisting of the Faculty together with other persons to act as Board of Studies and for other purposes ;
(ii) to determine generally the conditions for the award of degrees, diplomas, and other distinctions within the purview of the Faculty ;
(iii) to determine generally the course of study to be pursued by students of the University in the subjects within the purview of the Faculty ;
(iv) to determine generally the method and manner of teaching and examination with regard to the subjects within the purview of the Faculty.
I must say again that if the Faculties are to be entrusted with the powers set out above and the teachers are to be freed from the restrictions imposed by a common syllabus of instruction and a general quasi-external examination, it is necessary to make sure that the teachers are worthy of the trust imposed in them.
The Faculties should be the constituent bodies of the University. Having constituted our Faculties to take charge of the academic and educational work of the University, we must constitute a Central Governing Body to take charge of the administrative work of the University. This body should correspond to the existing Senate of the Bombay University but should be entirely different in character and composition. In my opinion the Senate as a supreme governing body should be comparatively a large body mainly non-professional in character but including representatives of graduates and the teachers. The advantages of such a mode of government are obvious. By mean of a large Senate a number of influential citizens, chosen because of their individual capacity, and of representatives of the great interests of the town, municipal, administrative, commercial, legal, scientific, etc., and of members of Legislative Council, the Assembly and the Council of State are brought into touch with the University and serve as channels between the University and the community as a whole. Such a Senate will be able to ask for support to the University with greater authority and success and the whole city will feel interested in the success of the University.
But the Universities Commission of 1902 regarded it as a fault of the system and reported that the Senates of the Universities were too bulky in