Two Bengaluru colleges now to be upgraded to state universities

Two city colleges have been chosen to receive funds under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA).

Each of these colleges will be given a grant of Rs 55 crore. Of which, Rs 15 crore will be given by the state government and the centre will provide the rest.

The recommended conditions for the release of the funds is that each of these colleges and the state are to sign an undertaking that the University created would be a State Public (Government) University.

With the provision of additional funds, two colleges —St Joseph’s College and Government Arts and Science College — from the city would be upgraded as State Public Universities. The decision was taken on May 25 with the approval of the board.

The board, which comprises secretaries of the higher education department of various states and experts from TISS and IIT, is chaired by the Secretary, Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD).

How are colleges chosen?

According to the MHRD, the approval is a two-stage process. To begin with, institutions register on the Challenge Level Funding (CLF) portal as per the eligibility norms. The State then verifies the credentials of the institutions and submits the application for those components.

Following this, the institutions are ranked based on various parameters following which the approvals are given.

Other colleges

These colleges have been chosen along with four other colleges that have been chosen from Maharashtra- Fergusson College (Pune), St Xavier’s Autonomous (Mumbai), Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce, Mithibai College of Arts, Chauhan Institute Of Science and Amrutben Jivanlal College Of Commerce And Economics.

Reacting to the decision, Kiran Jeevan, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, St Joseph’s College said that the college had applied for this long ago. “The advantage of being chosen is that, with the establishment of a University, we can start plenty of new courses. The college, however, will continue to cater to the poor, needy and lower sections of the society,” he said.

Yet another college that has received the grants is the Government Arts and Science College in Bengaluru.