Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil has asked his department to create clear rules to prevent question paper leaks. The department will also issue guidelines that clearly state which officers and employees will be responsible for stopping such incidents.
Patil also asked vice-chancellors and pro-vice-chancellors of public universities to meet students every week. They must listen to students’ academic and other problems and take quick action to resolve them, reported PTI.
During an online meeting with university vice-chancellors, Patil said all public universities in Maharashtra should follow the same academic calendar from the 2026-27 academic year. “Immediate action should be taken to implement a uniform academic timetable
for all public universities in the state from the 2026-27 academic year. The necessary timetable should be finalised within a week and implemented,” Patil said.
To prevent question paper leaks, the department will prepare Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) based on the guidelines followed by the central government. A separate circular will also clearly assign responsibility to officers and employees for preventing paper leaks.
Patil also asked universities to prepare plans for introducing the four-year honours degree programme from the 2026-27 and 2027-28 academic years.
He directed every vice-chancellor and pro-vice-chancellor to meet at least 50 students once a week. Universities will have to send the government a report explaining the problems raised by students and the steps taken to solve them.
To support the NEP, universities have also been asked to create groups or clusters of colleges. Colleges in these groups should share teachers, laboratories, libraries, buildings and other academic facilities so that available resources can be used more effectively.
Patil also ordered a workshop for examination department heads to learn about how universities in other states are implementing the NEP.
He asked universities to study the cluster-based courses developed by the University of Mumbai and other universities. The aim is to create better and more comprehensive cluster courses across Maharashtra. Each university has also been asked to organise at least one cluster-related activity every month.
In addition, Patil directed universities to ensure that teachers have a similar workload based on University Grants Commission (UGC) rules. He also called for greater uniformity in courses and asked universities to implement similar courses across institutions.
