Govt revives move to split BU into two

The State government has revived the proposal to bifurcate Bangalore University.
Higher Education Minister R V Deshpande on Wednesday said that a proposal in this regard would be soon placed before the State Cabinet for its approval.

Replying to a question from K Gopalaiah of the JD(S) in the Legislative Assembly, Deshpande said the government had set up a committee to look into the proposal after Governor H R Bhardwaj sent back an amendment bill which sought to bifurcate the university. The governor had expressed certain doubts on the bill.

The committee has recently submitted its report and the government will take a decision shortly, he added.

However, it was not clear whether the minister was referring to a committee headed by former vice chancellor Dr N Rudraiah, which recommended trifurcation. The government had also asked K R Venugopal to prepare a report on the logistics for the proposed university. Venugopal was appointed special officer by the then BJP government for setting up the new university to be carved out of Bangalore University.

The governor had sent back the bill saying that such a move would destroy the basic structure of the university and divide its resources. The bill was drafted by the then BJP government, which had even planned to name the new university after noted Kannada writer D V Gundappa.

The subsequent Congress government sought a fresh report by setting up a committee. When Gopalaiah sought a specific reply whether the university would be bifurcated, the minister said that the government understood the problem. Managing 614 colleges under the university is a huge task. The government will take an appropriate decision, he said. Senior leader Ramesh Kumar said the minister should spell out the priority of the government in this regard. Students in Kolar and Chikkaballapur are suffering due to the delay in bifurcating the university, he said.

Special grants

Primary and Secondary Education Minister Kimmane Ratnakar said the government had decided to release a special grant of Rs 40 lakh to every Assembly constituency for upgrading infrastructure facilities in government schools.

Repair of building and furniture, construction of toilets and other works can be taken up under the grant, he said.

Ramesh Kumar criticised the government’s decision to release special grants by terming it ‘baksheesh’ (tips). Such knee-jerk reaction will not serve any purpose. In the absence of long-term vision on education, the state of infrastructure and quality of education have deteriorated. It appears as if the government is deliberately doing this to help private school, he charged.

The minister said the government had decided not to close down any school even if there were no students. However, about 539 schools have been merged with the ones nearby, due to administrative reasons, he said.