ASSURANCE: Primary and Secondary Education Minister Basavaraj Horatti addressing a meeting of the staff of seven aided private colleges affiliated to Karnatak University, in Hubli on Sunday.

HUBLI: Primary and Secondary Education Minister Basavaraj Horatti has promised teachers of private aided colleges that enough time will be given to colleges to go for re-accreditation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

He was addressing a protest meeting of the teaching and non-teaching staff of seven private aided institutions affiliated to Karnatak University, whose grant-in-aid had been withheld by an order of the Commissioner of Collegiate Education here on Sunday. Karnatak University College Teachers' Association (KUCTA) had convened the protest meeting at the SJMVS College for Women.

Mr. Horatti told the college teachers that he had spoken to Higher Education Minister D.H. Shankaramurthy over phone on the issue and he had promised to keep the order to withhold salary grants to these colleges in abeyance for one year.

He told them that he would discuss the matter with Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and make efforts to get the issue sorted out by raising it at the Cabinet meeting.

Commissioner's order

It may be recalled that the Commissioner of Collegiate Education had ordered for withholding of salary grants to 49 colleges in the State, including those which had secured less than B-grade in the assessment by NAAC, and those that had not applied for NAAC accreditation.

Earlier, the meeting condemned the decision of the Commissioner of Collegiate Education and urged the State Government to revoke it immediately. As many as 300 employees of seven colleges from Shiggaon, Kundagol, Dharwad, Harogeri, Bhatkal, Sindhagi and Basavana Bagewadi, participated in the meeting.

Principals of the seven colleges whose grant-in-aid has been withheld — K.S. Patil (Sindhagi), D.A. Gobbaragumpi (Shiggaon), M.J. Punith (Dharwad), R.T. Hiregoudar (Kundagol), Mohammed Harun (Bhatkal), B.G. Kokatanur (Harogeri), and Shantanagouda Patil (Basavana Bagewadi) — urged the State Government not to link accreditation with the salary grants. C. Murugendrappa, president, Kuvempu University College Teachers' Association, said it was wrong to assess the urban and rural colleges using the same criteria.

`Partisan stance'

G.H. Kallimath, secretary, KUCTA alleged that the Government was partisan in applying the new rule.

Although of the 168 government colleges in the State 72 colleges had received lower than B-grade in NAAC accreditation, no action had been taken against them. Only 49 of the total 302 private aided colleges in the State were being targeted, he pointed out.

Lingaraj Angadi, president, KUCTA and other office-bearers conducted the meeting.

Meeting

Meanwhile Federation of University College Teachers Association of Karnataka (FUCTAK) has convened a meeting on October 27 in Bangalore to decide the next course of action.

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