Varsity sidelines State government's directive; refuses nod to PG courses in 6 colleges

August 26, 2011

VC

Mangalore, August 26: In one of the significant decisions taken by the Mangalore University Academic Council on Thursday, the Council refused to blindly grant permission to start new post graduation courses in the government degree colleges as per the colleges' demand.

The decision has been taken in contrary to the recent directive issued by the State government instructing the seven government degree colleges that come under Mangalore University to introduce PG courses from the academic year 2011-12.

Addressing the second special meeting of the Academic Council at Mangalore University Senate Hall, University Vice Chancellor Prof T C Shivashankara Murthy said that the decision was taken based on the recommendations of the committees formed to examine the infrastructure facilities in seven colleges.

Accordingly, the Council has approved to start six PG courses in five colleges against the demand to start 17 PG courses by seven colleges. The Council did not grant permission to start 11 courses as demanded by six colleges. The Council declined the permission to start PG courses which was sought by two colleges namely Government First Grade College, Hebri, and Government First Grade College, Bantwal. On the other hand, the Committee permitted Rukmini Shedthi Memorial National Government First Grade College, Barkur, to introduce PG course in Maths, even though the College had sought permission for introducing PG courses in Economics, Physics, Maths, Psychology and Information Science.

The Council has granted fresh affiliation for M.Com course to Manjunath Pai Memorial Government First Grade College, Karkala and MA Kannada and MSW courses to Government First Grade College, Vittal. The request to introduce M.Com course in Vittal was denied. The Government First Grade College, Uppinangady, received permission to introduce M.Com course, while the College's plea to start MA Kannada course was denied. The Government First Grade College, Kushalnagar was denied of permission to start MA in Political Science while the college was permitted to introduce PG in Sociology.

Lack of infrastructure

The VC said that the reason behind not granting permission to start all the PG courses as per the government's instruction was due to poor faculty and infrastructure facilities in the colleges. “As per the committees observation, there is a huge shortage of faculty in most of the colleges. When the colleges are falling short of faculty members to teach degree students, how can they provide justice to the post graduate students?” he asked.

The Council also declined the recommendation of Joint Director Nataraj Urs who suggested to extend the number of seats in M.Com and MSW course in Barkur College. The VC declined the recommendation saying, “the college lacks infrastructure to teach the present number of students and it can not afford to teach more number of students.”

He informed that permission was granted to the colleges to start PG courses based on certain conditions. The government has laid down few norms with regard to the introduction of PG courses and the University can't break those norms while granting the permission. If the colleges come up with better infrastructure, permission will be granted to start post graduation courses from the next academic year, he stated. The University will send the order copy to the colleges on August 26 and the colleges are expected to finish the admission process within 10 days. The Vice Chancellor has asked the colleges to cover the syllabus within the prescribed time by engaging classes on holidays.

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News Network
November 26,2025

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Bengaluru, Nov 26: Karnataka is taking its first concrete steps towards lifting a three-decade-old ban on student elections in colleges and universities. Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced Wednesday that the state government will form a small committee to study the reintroduction of campus polls, a practice halted in 1989 following incidents of violence.

Speaking at a 'Constitution Day' event organised by the Karnataka Congress, Mr. Shivakumar underscored the move's aim: nurturing new political leadership from the grassroots.

"Recently, (Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha) Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to me and Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) asking us to think about restarting student elections," Shivakumar stated. "I'm announcing today that we'll form a small committee and seek a report on this."

Student elections were banned in Karnataka in 1989, largely due to concerns over violence and the infiltration of political party affiliates into campus life. The ban effectively extinguished vibrant student bodies and the pipeline of young leaders they often produced.

Mr. Shivakumar, who also serves as the Karnataka Congress president, said that former student leaders will be consulted to "study the pros and cons" of the re-introduction.

Acknowledging the history of the ban, he added, "There were many criminal activities taking place back then. We’ll see how we can conduct (student) elections by regulating such criminal activities."

The Deputy CM reminisced about his own journey, which began on campus. He recalled his political activism at Sri Jagadguru Renukacharya College leading to his first Assembly ticket in 1985 at the age of 23. "That's how student leadership was at the time. Such leadership has gone today. College elections have stopped," he lamented, adding that for many, college elections were "like a big movement" where leaders were forged.

The move, driven by the Congress high command's push to cultivate young talent, will face scrutiny from academics and university authorities who have, in the past, expressed concern that the return of polls could disrupt the peaceful academic environment and turn campuses into political battlegrounds.

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News Network
November 28,2025

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Mangaluru, Nov 28: Karnataka Health Minister and Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Friday handed over Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting the severe distress faced by farmers due to crashing crop prices.

PM Modi arrived at the Mangaluru International Airport en route to Udupi, where Gundu Rao welcomed him and submitted the letter. The chief minister’s message stressed that farmers are suffering heavy losses because maize and green gram are being bought far below the Minimum Support Price (MSP). The state urged the Centre to immediately begin procurement at MSP.

According to the letter, Karnataka has a bumper harvest this year—over 54.74 lakh metric tons of maize and 1.98 lakh metric tons of green gram—yet farmers are unable to secure fair prices. Against the MSP of ₹2,400/MT for maize and ₹8,768/MT for green gram, market rates have plunged to ₹1,600–₹1,800 and ₹5,400 respectively.

The chief minister has requested the Centre to:

• Direct NAFED, FCI and NCCF to start MSP procurement immediately.
• Ensure ethanol units purchase maize directly from farmers or FPOs.
• Increase Karnataka’s ethanol allocation, citing high production capacity.
• Stop maize imports, which have depressed domestic prices.
• Relax quality norms for green gram, allowing up to 10% discoloration due to rains.

The letter stresses that MSP is crucial for farmer dignity and income stability and calls for swift central intervention to prevent a deepening crisis.

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News Network
December 1,2025

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Udupi, Dec 1: A horrific case of alleged rape has unfolded in Udupi, where a worker from a Hindutva organisation, previously arrested and released on bail for harassing a young woman, is now accused of waylaying and sexually assaulting her.

The arrested individual has been identified as Pradeep Poojary (26), a member of the Hindu Jagarana Vedike's Nairkode unit in Perdur.

Poojary had allegedly been relentlessly harassing the young woman, pressuring her to marry him. When she bravely stood up to him and refused his demands, she filed a formal complaint at the Hiriyadka police station. He was subsequently arrested in that initial harassment case but was later granted bail.

According to police reports, driven by the same malicious grudge, Poojary allegedly intercepted the woman again on November 29. While she was walking through a deserted area, the accused is claimed to have threatened her by grabbing her neck. When she again refused to marry him, he allegedly proceeded to rape her.

The survivor immediately informed her family about the traumatic assault. Following this, her parents lodged a complaint at the Udupi women’s police station.

Police arrested Poojary again and produced him before the court. He has since been remanded to judicial custody.

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