Surge in admissions: Karnataka govt PU colleges to hold classes in shifts

Government pre-university Colleges in the state will function on a shift basis during the 2022-23 academic year.

Considering the demand for admissions in its PU colleges, the government has decided to conduct classes in two shifts.

This arrangement will, however, be limited to colleges where there are high number of admissions.

The government PU colleges cannot say no to admission of any number of students.

“The high demand is not across the board. Admissions at some colleges have been as usual. However, there are colleges which are in high demand, especially for Arts stream,” said an official from the department of pre-university education.

Confirming that classes will be in shifts, Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh told DH, “Wherever there are more students, we will conduct classes on shift basis. For example, arts and science classes will be in the morning shift and commerce in the afternoon.”

However, the minister said there was no dearth of infrastructure at PU colleges.

“We will be able to manage the crowd with the infrastructure we have, but to avoid inconvenience to students inside the classrooms, we have decided to run classes in two shifts,” explained the minister. According to teachers in PU colleges, it has become necessary for them to have two shifts.

“During the 2021-22 academic year itself, some colleges were overcrowded. If we have the same strength this year too, we definitely cannot accommodate them in one shift,” said a lecturer at the government PU college in Malleswaram, Bengaluru.

To overcome the shortage of lecturers, the department has decided to hire guest lecturers based on student strength.

As explained by officials, colleges at hobli level have average admissions. But there is huge demand for those in taluk headquarters.

There are 1,203 government PU colleges in the state and 3,300 private unaided and 697 private aided PU colleges.

The department of higher education had conducted classes in shifts at government degree colleges last year, following the increase in the enrolment of students.