The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : 67 degree colleges to be started next year

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 06, 2006
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

67 degree colleges to be started next year

Staff Reporter

They will initially offer B.A., B.Sc. and B.Com courses

ON EDUCATION: Higher Education Minister D.H. Shankaramurthy (foreground) at a colloquium on `Future direction of higher education in Karnataka,' in Bangalore on Tuesday. — Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

BANGALORE: The State Government will start 67 new degree colleges in the next academic year. About 500 teachers will be appointed to the colleges, which will initially offer B.A., B.Sc. and B.Com courses, Higher Education Minister D.H. Shankaramurthy said here on Tuesday.

Also on the Government's agenda was a Bill to amend the Karnataka State Universities (KSU) Act and the Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) Act. The Bill would be introduced in the coming budget session of the legislature, Mr. Shankaramurthy said at a colloquium on `Future direction of higher education in Karnataka' organised by the newly launched Forum for Education Change (FFEC).

The KSU Act, the Minister said, was worse than the 1976 Act. "But I don't want to rush to amend it. I want the FFEC to give its suggestions by December 31, so that the Bill can be placed at least in the budget session."

Many speakers at the colloquium questioned the rationale behind having specialised universities such as the VTU, when the system of affiliating colleges to a university had long disappeared the world over. "The affiliation system is a bane on students. It comes in the way of innovations. Putting 123 engineering colleges under one university creates problems," said a speaker.

FFEC president and former Bangalore University Vice-Chancellor N.R. Shetty said that except in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the affiliating system was practised nowhere. "Gradually, we were supposed to have more autonomous colleges. A technological university was thought of because the general universities were plagued by examination-related delays. Now it is worse off than the general universities."

Specialised universities, said another speaker, was against the trend of an interdisciplinary approach in higher education.

Foreign varsities

Later, Mr. Shankaramurthy told presspersons that foreign universities were likely come in, and that would give students more choice. "We should be cautious about exploitation. But the State Government cannot exercise full control over everything. It can only supervise."

To a query on Tumkur University, the Minister said he had asked the Deputy Commissioner of the district to submit a status report. At least 300 acres had to be identified for the university. "I don't want to kill a university. Once the land is identified the Government can acquire it and give it to the university. A meeting will be convened with local MLAs, education experts and other local people. With only 26 colleges, what university can you start? Basically, there should be land," Mr. Shankaramurthy said.

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