SC/ST work progress review meeting dithered

August 24, 2011

Mangalore, August 24: The progress review meeting of development works under schemes meant for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Mangalore taluk was postponed for the second time in a row due to an uproar caused by the delay of officials at the Mangalore Panchayat Hall here on Wednesday.

Monthly developmental review meet was also postponed last month making this the second consecutive deferment of the meeting.

Representatives of SC/ST community had gathered in numbers but were saddened by the delay and absence of officials. Assistant Commissioner of Mangalore Sub Division, the president of the Taluk level committee, officials from the police department were absent. Irritated by the unexplained absence of officials the SC/ST representatives boycotted the meeting raising slogans against “irresponsible officials”.

Manjunath, Tahsildar of Mangalore arrived 45 after minutes and tried to console the members of SC/ST community. “We are not dogs to run behind officials”, was a reply he got from the group.

When questioned by the journalists about his delay to attend the meeting Mr Manjunath said it was due to “prior commitments”. He also claimed that the delay was not his mistake.

The members of SC/ST community in conversation with the journalists said that there was no point in organising a meeting if the concerned officials were not present.

One Manjunath, who was among the 26 families displaced for having a house near the railway track recently, had attended the meeting requesting that the make-shift facilities allotted to them near Mudipu has to be vacated as they are supposed to live there for only a month.

“There are around 250 people living in the region and we don't know where to go”, he said.

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Mangaluru’s KPT becomes India’s first autonomous govt polytechnic

News Network

January 23,2026

Mangaluru: The Karnataka Government Polytechnic (KPT), Mangaluru, has achieved autonomous status from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), becoming the first government polytechnic in the country to receive such recognition in its 78-year history. The status was granted by AICTE, New Delhi, and subsequently approved by the Karnataka Board of Technical Education in October last year.

Officials said the autonomy was conferred a few months ago. Until recently, AICTE extended autonomous status only to engineering colleges, excluding diploma institutions. However, with a renewed national focus on skill development, several government polytechnics across India have now been granted autonomy.

KPT, the second-largest polytechnic in Karnataka, was established in 1946 with four branches and has since expanded to offer eight diploma programmes, including computer science and polymer technology. The institution is spread across a 19-acre campus.

Ravindra M Keni, the first dean of the institution, told The Times of India that AICTE had proposed autonomous status for polytechnic institutions that are over 25 years old. “Many colleges applied. In the first round, 100 institutions were shortlisted, which was further narrowed down to 15 in the second round. We have already completed one semester after becoming an autonomous institution,” he said. He added that nearly 500 students are admitted annually across eight three-year diploma courses.

Explaining the factors that helped KPT secure autonomy, Keni said the institution has consistently recorded 100 per cent admissions and placements for its graduates. He also noted its strong performance in sports, with the college emerging champions for 12 consecutive years, along with active student participation in NCC and NSS activities.

Autonomous status allows KPT to design industry-oriented curricula, conduct examinations, prepare question papers, and manage academic documentation independently. The institution can also directly collaborate with industries and receive priority funding from AICTE or the Ministry of Education. While academic autonomy has been granted, financial control will continue to rest with the state government.

“There will be separate committees for examinations, question paper setting, boards of studies, and boards of examiners. The institution will now have the freedom to conduct admissions without government notifications and issue its own marks cards,” Keni said, adding that new academic initiatives would be planned after a year of functioning under the autonomous framework.

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