Bangalore University revises course fees amid revenue shortfall post trifurcation

Bengaluru: To manage its finances, Bangalore University (BU) is planning to hike the admission fee for some undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

To submit recommendations on improving financial management, the university has constituted two committees in the recent meeting of the syndicate.

According to sources from the university, it is likely to increase the fees for courses that are in higher demand and for self-financing programmes such as MCom in Financial Analysis, International Business, Master of Tourism and Travel Management, among others.

In the trifurcation process, BU lost several private colleges to the Bengaluru City University and Bengaluru North University. The number of students has also declined, impacting the university’s revenue generation.

"After the trifurcation of the university, there is no major source of income for us. Earlier, we used to earn through rent from the Jnana Jyothi Auditorium, which is now with the Bengaluru City University. Even the affiliation fee collection from private colleges was higher, as there were over 700 colleges before the trifurcation. Now, the number of colleges has reduced to just over 200," the varsity’s official source said.

The source also mentioned that the number of government colleges affiliated with the university has increased, which do not contribute to revenue generation.

Available details reveal that the university’s annual budget is over Rs 250 crore. "We are struggling to generate revenue to meet the budget. Hence, we are exploring various sources of income, including a fee hike, and increasing the rent for land leased out to other organisations," revealed the source.

The university requires Rs 100 crore annually for pension payments. Except for staff salaries, it does not receive any financial assistance from the government. "A Rs 50-crore corpus fund deposited in various banks and the interest it generates is our only source of income to manage other expenses," the source claimed.

Current fees for a few courses

Integrated BSc (Hons) & MSc in Geography and Geoinformatics: Rs 26,000. 

MA, MSc, MCom: Rs 4,000+ for Karnataka students & Rs 7,000+ for those from outside Karnataka. 
 
MSW, Mass Communication, MCA, MBA: Rs 6,500+ for Karnataka students & Rs 9,000+ for non-Karnataka students.