The BJP government set up 8 new universities in Bagalkot, Bidar, Chamarajanagar, Haveri, Hassan, Kodagu, Koppal, and Mandya in March 2023.
Published Sep 12, 2023 | 10:00 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 12, 2023 | 10:00 AM
The head office of Koppal University has been allocated in Government Engineering College in Talakal. (Supplied)
In the wake of ambitious initiatives to broaden the horizons of higher education, the previous government in Karnataka — led by the BJP — set up eight new universities in various districts nearly six months ago. But the future of these varsities seems uncertain as they are yet to receive grants.
A troubling reality has unfolded: These universities remain stagnated without much-needed financial backing, either from the current government or its predecessor.
This situation raises significant concerns about the future of these fledgling institutions and the overall commitment to advancing higher education within these districts.
Most of these new varsities are yet to even get their own buildings. The head offices of these universities are either in the existing post-graduation centres or government buildings in the respective districts.
In a recent high-level meeting, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held discussions with the Cabinet ministers and vice-chancellors on whether to continue or discontinue these eight new varsities.
There are 57 universities, excluding the eight new universities, in Karnataka. Among them, 26 universities are public universities, 20 are private universities, and 11 are deemed-to-be universities.
The eight new universities were set up under the “One District, One University” concept during the time of the previous BJP government.
The Basavaraj Bommai-led government launched these universities in March 2023, a couple of months before the Assembly elections. The BJP government gave its nod for establishing eight new universities by amending the Karnataka State Universities (Amendment) Act 2022, in September 2022.
The new universities have been set up in Bagalkot, Bidar, Chamarajanagar, Haveri, Hassan, Kodagu, Koppal, and Mandya. The government also appointed vice-chancellors for all the new universities.
According to the Department of Higher Education, “Bidar University will comprise 140 colleges, Bagalkot 71, Koppal 45, Haveri 40, Hassan 36, Kodagu 34, and Chamarajanagar 18. All first-grade colleges in Mandya district will be affiliated to the new university.”
Earlier, colleges in Bidar were affiliated with the Gulbarga University, colleges in Bagalkot with the Rani Channamma University in Belagavi, those in Koppal were affiliated with the Vijayanagara Sri Krishnadevaraya University, those in Haveri were affiliated with the Karnataka University in Dharwad, and those in Kodagu, Mandya, Chamarajanagar and Hassan were affiliated with the University of Mysore.
According to the New Education Policy 2020, there should be at least one university in each district to meet the education and skill needs of the youth, claimed the then-state government.
The Bommai government had announced ₹14 crore to set up these new universities and claimed that the annual recurring cost of each varsity would be around ₹2 crore.
Koppal University Vice-Chancellor Dr BK Ravi told South First, “It takes a lot of time to set up a new university. It is not an easy task. A total of 45 colleges have been affiliated with our university. We are currently accommodated in the Government Engineering College in Talakal village.”
He added, “The admission process has already begun. We are yet to receive grants from the government. I have also submitted the action and budget plan for the ongoing academic year to the government.”
Bagalkot University Vice-Chancellor Anand S Deshpande told South First, “Everything is under process. The government is supportive and has already issued a bifurcation order (new universities will get proportionate staff and colleges located in respective districts have to affiliate to new universities).”
He added, “In the coming days, the government is all likely to release grants for the university. The primary focus is on academic activities. The university office has been allocated at the post-graduation centre in Jamkhandi.”
After reports emerged that the Congress government is planning to shut down all eight new universities, Minister for Higher Education Dr MC Sudhakar refuted the claims and said that the government is working towards the betterment of these varsities.
According to a source South First spoke to: “Siddaramaiah collected the opinion of the vice-chancellors of the eight new universities regarding continuing or shutting them down in a high-level meeting with the VCs and senior officials of the Higher Education Department in August.”
“The VCs have asked the government to continue the functioning of these universities. The government needs somewhere around ₹10 to 15 crore every fiscal year for the operation of eight new universities,” the source said.
Refuting the rumours, Minister Sudhakar told South First, “There is no such proposal or thought before the government to shut down the eight new universities. The chief minister sought only opinions from the vice-chancellors about continuing the operations of the new universities in the meeting.”
He added, “The vice-chancellors have expressed their opinions. The government has no plans to close down these universities. We are working towards building healthy universities.”
On why the government is yet to release the grants, he said, “The vice-chancellors have submitted an action plan and budget requirement report. The government will release the grants at the earliest.”
“There are no issues in these universities. The government will continue to operate them by providing sufficient grants. It will take some time to set up proper infrastructure,” stated the higher education minister.
