All-pass PU results spur admissions in Karnataka govt degree colleges

The government degree colleges in Karnataka have seen record admissions this academic year as the numbers have gone up by 50,000 compared with last year.

A huge chunk of the total 2 lakh seats available in the undergraduate courses at government degree colleges remain vacant every year. Last year, at least 85,000 had remained vacant.

To the surprise of officials, colleges have already filled 1.65 lakh seats this year, as per the data available from the collegiate education department. This is the highest number ever.

According to officials from the department of collegiate education, one of the main reasons for this increase in demand is the ‘all-pass’ decision by the department of pre-university education. Another reason is financial crisis caused to several families due to Covid-19 pandemic.

“Besides the fact that all students in II PU were promoted, the financial crisis caused to families by the pandemic led to huge demand for seats in government colleges, considering the fee factor,” an official said.

Classes in shifts

The department is conducting classes in shift basis due to high numbers.

P Pradeep, commissioner for department of collegiate education, told DH, “Wherever there is lack of infrastructure to accommodate students, we have asked the principals to conduct classes in shifts.”

To overcome the shortage of faculty, the department has issued directions to continue the guest faculties for the current academic year and hire new ones, if necessary.

Officials said the demand for commerce courses is high in southern districts of the state and arts stream is highly sought after in north Karnataka region.

However, the demand for science stream is stagnant. “A majority of science students try their luck with KCET to join engineering courses. So, there is no increase in demand for BSc courses,” an official said.

There are over 430 government degree colleges in the state. As some of the universities have extended the admission dates, the department is expecting to get more students on board.