The Hindu : Colleges lukewarm to `Out-reach'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 05, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Colleges lukewarm to `Out-reach'

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, FEB. 4. The "out-reach" programme of the Bangalore University and its Rs. 40 lakh grant have evoked poor response from colleges, the university Vice-Chancellor, M.S. Thimmappa, said on Wednesday.

He was speaking at the inauguration of a two-day seminar on "Changing trends in communication/journalism education" at the NMKRV College here.

The "out-reach" programme was to encourage colleges affiliated to the university to collaborate with the industry and its many research and development (R&D) institutions.

"But so far, only 10 colleges have come forward and Rs. 30 lakh remains unused," Dr. Thimmappa said.

The "out-reach" programme was part of efforts to make all courses more "integrated" in their approach and relevant in their content.

In this case, "50 per cent of the course must be hands-on, 50 per cent based on classroom teaching/textbooks," he said.

Liaison with the industry did not merely mean that the course became more commercial. "Knowledge must always be applied," he said.

Dr. Thimmappa said the university would start its integrated Physics course and introduce a semester system into undergraduate courses from the next academic year.

It planned to start five B.A/B.Sc courses — in Humanities, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, and Physics.

The Karnataka Media Academy Chairman, Arjun Deva, said teaching of journalism needed to be re-oriented, as the profession had changed so much in such a short time.

It had become specialised, the lines between news and advertisement had blurred and newspapers had become reader-friendly.

Veteran journalist and former Chairman of the Kannada Watchdog Committee, Patil Puttappa, stressed that the three organs of the State - the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary — were now targeting the Press.

The Legislature invoked its Privileges, the Judiciary held newspapers in Contempt of Court proceedings and the Executive placed obstacles in the way of a free press, he said.

Why did the Legislature misuse its powers? "Legislators are meant to serve the people, not lord over them," he said.

Their privileges had to be codified, he said.

K.S. Umadevi, Principal of the NMKRV College, spoke.

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