Two colleges run by Ramakrishna Mission are set to be declared autonomous, taking the number of such institutions in the state to three.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Thursday granted autonomy to Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur, and Ramakrishna Mission Sikshamandir, Belur, a B.Ed college.

St Xavier’s College was the first undergraduate institution in the state to be granted autonomy. It received the status in July 2006.

The Mission institutions will be declared autonomous after the syndicate of Calcutta University (CU), to which they are affiliated, formally approves the UGC decision. “The decision will soon be placed before the syndicate, our highest policy-making body,” said Dhrubojyoti Chattopadhyay, the pro vice-chancellor (academic).

The UGC has written to the university saying the new status can come into effect from the 2008-09 academic session.

An autonomous college can frame syllabi, hold exams and award degrees on its own. The certificate, however, will also carry the university’s seal. The institute can also appoint teachers and handle financial matters independently.

The UGC provides a “substantial grant” to autonomous colleges.

“We are happy with the UGC order as we will now enjoy more freedom,” said Swami Tattwasarananda, the principal of Ramakrishna Mission Sikshamandir, Belur.

Swami Suparnananda, the principal of the Narendrapur college, said: “We will benefit from autonomy though we will still be under the university’s supervision.”

The Narendrapur college will remodel the syllabi and replace the 1+1+1 system with semesters. This was made clear by vice-principal Swami Puratanananda, who added that the “first-year students will follow the CU curriculum” as they have already registered with the university.

The two Ramakrishna Mission colleges had applied to the state government and the university for autonomy in 2007. The CU syndicate accepted the proposal following a go-ahead from the government.

The university then forwarded the proposals to the UGC, which gave its consent after inspecting the colleges.

Presidency College, too, had been shortlisted for autonomy by the government last year. But a “high-powered committee” set up by the government to determine the “ideal status” for Presidency recommended only partial autonomy.