From B. Harishchandra Bhatt
BANGALORE : Karnataka Higher Education Minister C.T. Ravi told reporters on September 11 that the state government is likely to adopt major educational policies by year-end, including trifurcation of Bangalore University and introduction of honours degree in all State universities.

Speaking to reporters after attending a round-table conference of Vice-Chancellors and educationists on ‘Propagation of Gandhian values and movement against alcoholism and drug abuse’, here on September 11 the minister said that the government was contemplating several educational policies which will be ready by December.

“I have visited 14 varsities in the State and will visit three by month-end. The major problems I have come across are of a lack of infrastructure and academic atmosphere. Where there is infrastructure, there appears to be inefficiency or imbalance in faculty and faculty strength,” he explained.

To tackle this problem, the government is exploring options including inter-university transfer of faculty or students, he said. “We are also discussing the possibility of introducing the honours degree (an honours undergraduate student studies only one subject in depth as against three being studied in the present system),” he added.

On the Education Department’s proposal to trifurcate Bangalore University to which 634 colleges are affiliated, Ravi said that there were discussions about whether to divide it into two or three universities. It may be mentioned here that the proposal to bifurcate the varsity into north and south campuses was virtually shelved after the death of the former Higher Education Minister V.S. Acharya.

“It is a very big university. We are seeing if it can be divided into north, south and east campuses or bifurcated,” he said.

The Minister also shot down the likelihood of the Indian Science Engineering Eligibility Test (ISEET) replacing the State’s Common Entrance Test (CET) for engineering admissions next year. “Our CET is a well established system which has become a role model for the other States. We would like it to be held the next academic year also,” he maintained.

K'nataka plans tough rules for private varsities

BANGALORE : Karnataka State Cabinet has approved the establishment of three more private universities. At least, three more established educational institutions have sought permission to establish private universities. The State already has two private universities.

The Cabinet recently approved the proposals of M S Ramaiah Group, Manipal Academy of Higher Education and Jain Group for opening private universities in the state. Azim Premji University and Alliance University are already a reality in Bangalore.

Interestingly, those varsities which are in the pipeline are also going to be in or around Bangalore, while there is a dearth of good colleges and universities in tier-II and tier-III cities.

On May 26, the state Cabinet cleared the proposal of Vellore Institute of Technology to open a private university in Bangalore, while a draft bill pertaining to M S Ramaiah University was cleared.

Amrita Education Group, Sri Devaraj Urs Educational Trust and Dayanand Sagar Institutions are among those who have submitted applications seeking permission to open private universities, according to H Siddaiah, Principal Secretary, Higher Education Department.

Draft rules

The State Higher Education Council has come out with a draft rules document, which is yet to go before the executive committee of the council. The council has also prepared a draft Act which can serve as a blueprint for preparing legislations for each private university.

Council executive director Prof K M Kaveriappa said there should be a set of rules for becoming eligible to seek permission to open a private university so that there will be no provision for ad hoc decisions. Also, certain standards could be set for educational institutions to become eligible.

A body which sponsors a private varsity should own not less than 10 to 15 acres in urban area and not less than 25 acres in the rural sector, where it proposes to establish the university. If the sponsoring body already has established institutions in an area not less than 10 to 15 acres, it can apply.

But there could be some relaxation in minimum land possession in exceptional cases. The draft rules say that while following the UGC guidelines to submit the form, they should pay fees to the Higher Education Council which is non-returnable.

The project proposal should be explained as per the prescribed 12 heads. The title of ownership of the land owned by the sponsors and the master plan of the existing and proposed buildings should be submitted.

It should establish its financial credentials, including possession of sufficient funds, and create a permanent statutory endowment fund.

The proposal of the sponsoring body should be put before a search committee which has members nominated by the Higher Education Council and a nominee of the UGC or Vice-Chancellor of a central university.

The search committee after physical verification of the university site, if satisfied, will advise the government to consider the proposal.

If the proposal is rejected, it will not be eligible to apply for the next one year. In the model draft Act too, the Council has stipulated that a private university will have to comply with the norms of not only the University Grants Commission, but also of various statutory bodies. The admissions and fees should also be in accordance with UGC rules.

Why uniformity?

To a question as to why all private universities, like the State universities, should be modeled on a single Act, Kaveriappa said, “Each private university will function in a different way, because they are created through a separate Act. The draft bill will only serve as a blueprint as to how the bills should be.”

Former vice-chancellor of the Bangalore University, M S Thimmappa, said it was unfortunate that so far private universities had been allowed to come up, without a policy.

“There should be least government interference in private universities. When autonomy comes, responsibility comes automatically.

“But there should be transparency in the management of universities. If the government controls private varsities too much, they too will end up like many state universities which are in the news for the wrong reasons,” he said.

VTU vice-chancellor failed in 7 semesters

BANGALORE : The head of Karnataka’s premier technical education umbrella institution, Visvesvaraya Technical University (VTU), failed in seven of the ten semesters of his undergraduate degree course in mechanical engineering, says a Deccan Herald report datelined January 10.

He finally managed to pass the course, but only after many attempts, adding up to a total of 25 marks sheets. He now heads a university which has 200 engineering colleges functioning under it. And the High Court is looking at his claims that he passed in first class. The stack of marks statements of his shows that he passed only 3 semesters of the 10 without failing in any subject, making repeated attempts to pass some of the papers in the rest of the semesters. He could pass two subjects of the seventh semester only after he passed the 9th and 10th semesters.

While Maheshappa completed semesters nine and ten in 1982, he reappeared for two subjects of the seventh semester – machine design I and estimating, specification and engineering economics – in March 1983. In the ninth semester too he failed in two subjects – metrology and automatic control engineering – in Feb/March, 1982 and he cleared these papers along with the 10th semester.

Student at the Government BDT College of Engineering, Davangere affiliated to University of Mysore, Maheshappa obtained a post-graduate degree and doctorate from Bangalore University, where it was not mandatory to submit a degree certificate while seeking entry to a PG course or doctoral programme.

It is not mandatory for a person to have a first class degree to become a VC, but Maheshappa has been accused of making false claims before the search panel that selected him to head the VTU for three years from 2010. While he has claimed that he has a first class degree in BE, those who have filed a public interest litigation in the High Court have alleged that he has just a second class degree, and contrary to his claim did not guide any PhD student.

The University of Mysore, during 1980s, used award an engineering degree based on the scoring of the last two semesters. Maheshappa’s 10th semester marks card (August/September 1982) mentions that he obtained second class. He failed in two subjects and his total scoring was 393 out of 775.

He passed the subjects later. In the final semester, he secured 830 out of 1400. While the university awarded him second class going by the marks he had scored in the first attempt, he has claimed that after the second attempt he made in the 9th semester, the percentage crossed 60 per cent.