The government of Maharashtra has received 183 proposals from universities interested in starting new colleges this year. The state had previously identified 434 locations for this purpose, but less than half of these locations have received interest from universities. Once approved by the government, these colleges will commence the academic session in 2023-24.

As per a report by the Times of India, Mumbai University has 112 proposed locations for new colleges, and 28 proposals from college managements have been sent to Maharashtra’s higher and technical education department. Majority of these proposals are for law colleges. Meanwhile, Savitribai Phule Pune University in Pune sent 31 proposals for 33 locations.

.The deadline for submitting proposals was March 31, and the department is currently studying the proposals. A final list of approved colleges will be issued soon. Out of the 112 proposed locations under Mumbai University, only 54 college managements showed interest. Of these, 26 proposals were rejected at the university level, and only 28 proposals were sent to the department after scrutiny.

Among the 28 proposals from Mumbai University, 16 are for law colleges, and 12 are for Science, Arts, and Commerce colleges. The number of proposals for new colleges has been falling consistently over the past few years. Maharashtra had identified 1,338 locations for new colleges for 2022-23, but less than one-fourth of the total received the state’s approval, according to a university official.

Despite the proposals, the addition of new colleges is also adding a burden on existing universities, as Mumbai University already has 860 affiliated colleges. Recently, a college principal stated that Mumbai University already has enough arts, science, and commerce colleges, as well as law colleges, which are being run with suboptimal resources.