Higher Education Minister Dr M C Sudhakar assured the Council on Monday that a meeting of stakeholders with finance department officials would be held soon, under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
He was responding to a question from BJP member S V Sankanur on fund crunch at state-run universities.
"There has been no financial discipline, transparency and accountability in a majority of the public universities," Sudhakar said, adding that new universities were created only due to political pressure.
"Financial feasibility was not considered. Transparency has not been followed in appointments. Money set aside for pension and other benefits has been spent on construction of buildings,” he said.
“In Kodagu, a university has been approved for 22 colleges, while in Mandya it is for one college. There are confusions in Kuvempu University and Janapada University. We need to take tough decisions. Otherwise, universities that are 50-60 years old have to be closed down. It will not be difficult to manage 200-300 colleges in one university using the latest technology," Sudhakar said.
Published 17 July 2023, 16:35 IST