Mangalore University Vice-Chancellor Prof T C Shivashankaramurthy said that two new gold medals have been instituted by Dharmadhikari D Veerendra Heggade this year.

The gold medal will be given in the name of Late Sri Ramakrishna Mallya for the highest scorers in Masters in Communication and Journalism (MCJ) and MBA. Veerendra Heggade has donated Rs one lakh for the purpose. As the gold medals had to be given this year, he had also paid this year’s interest amount of Rs 12,500 for the two medals.

The Syndicate of the University has decided to use university’s own funds to present gold medals to toppers in the university because the money deposited by donors of various gold medals is insufficient as the gold prices have skyrocketed in the past few years.

Years ago, donors instituted gold medals to encourage bright students.

The interest from the fixed deposits was used to give the medals. Now, gold prices have shot up and the amount is not enough to finance the medals, said the VC.

“Those who would like to institute a gold medal in the university will have to deposit Rs one lakh henceforth. Earlier, it was Rs 50,000. We have already written to the donors to increase the deposit amount from Rs 50,000 to Rs one lakh,” said the VC.

The university gets interest of Rs 3,875 for a deposit of Rs 50,000 instituted by the donors to be given as gold medal. The cost of one gold medal comes around Rs 6,225. The gold medal has 25 gram silver with 1.3 gram gold plated on it.

No degree

The Mangalore University will not award degree to students of 2008-09, 2009-10 batch students of Master of Communication and Media Studies (MCMS) of St Aloysius College.
The college had admitted 13 students to the two-year course in 2008-09.

The passed out students in 2009-10, applied for the degree with nomenclature as MCMS, to be received during the university’s 29th convocation on April 30, 2011. However, the university refused to award them degree under this nomenclature. The regulations governing two-year PG programmes in the faculties of arts, science and commerce, the university could award degree as MA in Communications and not as MCMS.

The Governor, who is the Chancellor of the university, had approved the amended regulations of the university on April 25, 2009.

Later, the  government has approved a proposal to change the nomenclature of the course to MCMS. The Governor approved the change on May 21, 2011.