Centre declares Mumbai's Sir JJ School of Art de novo deemed university

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at Sir JJ School of Art in Mumbai/PIB

The iconic Sir JJ School of Art, along with two adjoining institutes, finally received the union government's nod for 'de novo' deemed-to-be university status on Thursday. The institute will now be known as Sir JJ School of Art, Architecture and Design. Union Minister of Education and Skill Development Dharmendra Pradhan unveiled the foundation stone of the de novo deemed university on Thursday evening. The union education ministry had also released a notification to this effect.

Present at the occasion were Speaker of Maharashtra's Legislative Assembly, Rahul Narwekar, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Minister of Higher and Secondary Education, Textile Industry and Parliamentary Affairs Chandrakant Patil, Minister of School Education and Guardian Minister of Mumbai City Deepak Kesarkar, Principal Secretary of Higher and Technical Education Department Vikas Chandra Rastogi, Director of Arts Directorate Rajeev Mishra among others. Pradhan handed over the letter granting the deemed university with de novo status to Fadnavis.

Speaking at the event, Pradhan said, "In the field of art, there is the power of creation. Indian society has been very progressive from ancient times through arts the depicted culture and the way of life. This had been a society that is connected with culture, is creative and contributes to innovation. The Art school established in the 19th century is a proud heritage of India and will continue to shine in the future."

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The 'De Novo' category is awarded to institutions devoted to innovations in teaching and research. After the Union government's nod, the Sir JJ School of Art, Architecture and Design is now Maharahstra's only government-run deemed-to-be university and one among a handful of institutes with the 'de novo' status across India.

In September this year, the centre granted NCERT, an apex organisation for school education the deemed-to-be-university status in the 'De Novo' category.
On June 28, the Maharashtra state cabinet approved the merger of three colleges of the Sir JJ School of Art to form a De Novo-deemed university, and the government also announced the proposed courses of the university and mid-day.com reported this on June 29.

The cabinet has approved a budget of Rs 50,37 crore for the university, earmarked for salaries and other essential expenses in June of this year.

The process of merging the country's oldest art school with the adjacent institutions, Sir JJ College of Architecture and Sir JJ Institute of Applied Art, into a university has been underway for several years.

The state submitted a proposal for this merger to the University Grants Commission (UGC) in March 2020. Subsequently, the UGC issued a letter of intent in October 2021, specifying approximately nine conditions the state needed to meet to obtain de novo status.

In September 2022, the state government dissolved a committee established to convert the art school into a state-level art university - a decision made during the Maha Vikas Aghadi regime. A government resolution was issued to announce this change. Protests erupted on the campus of the premier art institute, where hundreds of students demanded better infrastructure, faculty, and administration, believing these improvements would only materialize if the institute received deemed university status under the 'de novo' category.

Officials revealed that the plan to secure deemed university status from the UGC under the de novo category was already in progress, with a letter of intent having been submitted. In response, a committee, chaired by Dr. Vijay Khole, the former vice-chancellor of the University of Mumbai, was formed to explore the possibilities.

Subsequently, the government submitted a Detailed Project Report (DPR) to the UGC, outlining that the new university would be administered through a section 8 (non-profit) company owned by the state.

Rustomjee Jeejeebhoy felicitated
Rustomjee Jeejeebhoy, descendant of Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy was present at the event, he was felicitated by the minister.

Proposed unique courses the university will offer
Department of Contemporary Art Practices (M.F.A in Contemporary Art Practices)
Department of Metropolitan Architecture (M. Arch in Metropolitan Architecture)
Department of Typography and Tyre Design (M. Des. In Typography and Type Design)
Department of Communication and Experience Design (M. Des. In Communication & Experience Design)
Department of Art, Architecture and Design Education (M.F.A. in Art Education, M. Arch. In Architectural Education, M. Des. In Design Education)