Low admissions force Bangalore University to close select PG courses

Bengaluru: Postgraduate courses with fewer than 10 admissions at Bangalore University (BU) will be discontinued.

Following a recent Syndicate decision, the university has announced the closure of three PG programmes — Molecular Biology, Solid Waste Management, and Disaster Management — for the 2025-26 academic year.

Clarifying the status of faculty in these departments, Vice-Chancellor Dr Jayakara SM said that most are guest lecturers, and there is no question of relocating them to other departments.

He noted that conventional PG courses in Arts subjects like Sanskrit and Urdu have seen an uptick in admissions over the past two years. "As per the Syndicate’s decision, we will review applications and decide the course’s future. Only if admissions fall below 10, will we consider closure," Jayakara explained.

During the meeting, Syndicate members argued that retaining low-demand courses placed an unnecessary financial burden on the university.

"When the university is already struggling financially, what is the point in running courses with no demand? Even with a single admission, we are obliged to pay salaries and maintain infrastructure," a senior official remarked.

However, some faculty members have suggested freezing admissions instead of permanently closing courses.

The university currently runs over 52 postgraduate departments. While some attract applications three times their intake, others barely reach single-digit admissions.

In 2017-18, a Syndicate sub-committee was formed to review the closure of such low-demand programmes.

As per available data, several PG courses continue to struggle, managing between 10 and 20 admissions annually. These include Sanskrit, Telugu, Audiology, Speech and Language, Hindi, Corporate Communication, Constitution and Administration, Labour Employment, International Business, Urdu, Dance, Music, Geographical Information, and Life Science.