BU split into 3 but no govt funds yet for new universities

The state government trifurcated Bangalore University (BU) by a notification last July and laid the ground for it with a gazette notification in 2015 but it has not yet released any funds for the development of the new varsities.

Bengaluru North University (BNU), which will get a new campus at Amaravathi, Chikkaballapur district, is now functioning on a seed amount of just Rs 3 crore which it received from the parent BU. The government has decided that BU will provide Rs 15 crore to BNU but the transfer process has not begun yet.

Vice-Chancellor of BNU, Prof T D Kemparaju, said: “We have submitted a proposal of Rs 185 crore to the government for the 2018-19 academic year. It may come up for discussion in the winter session of the legislature and it has been indicated to us that it may be announced in the state budget in February.”

The Kori committee which looked into the trifurcation of BU had recommended that the new universities be given Rs 150 crore, to begin with, the V-C said. The university had also submitted a proposal for Rs 350 crore that will be required over five years.

Earlier, it was reported that Bengaluru Central University also did not receive funds from the government and was functioning on seed money from the BU.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, BNU V-C detailed the plans for the new varsity which has jurisdiction over the districts of Kolar, Chikkaballapur, and several Assembly constituencies in Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts.

“We got to know through the media that there are some villages in Chikkaballapur and Kolar where there is not a single degree holder. Karnataka is known as the hub of IT and higher education but it’s shocking that there are such villages even today,” Kemparaju said. The university intends to conduct a demographic and economic survey in identified areas with help from its Master of Social Work (MSW) students to understand the reason for the trend. “We are in touch with the district administration. We want to identify and adopt such villages. We will help students here to pursue higher education,” he added.

In the 2018-19 academic year, the university will start eight postgraduate courses — MA in English, Journalism and Mass Communication and Political Science, MSc in Mathematics, Fashion and Apparel Technology, among others. Three bachelor’s degree programmes in Hospitality and Event Management, BBA in Civil Aviation and BSc in Electronic Media. “We are not starting any traditional BSc courses in the 2018-19 year for lack of labs. In 2019-20, we propose to start courses in Physics and the following year in Chemistry,” the V-C said.

DH News Service