Bengaluru: The Karnataka Assembly on Wednesday passed a Bill to create seven new Universities in the State.

The Karnataka State Universities (Amendment) Bill proposes to create new Universities in Bidar, Haveri, Kodagu, Chamarajanagar, Hassan, Koppal and Bagalkot. Also, the existing Mandya Unitary University’s jurisdiction will be extended to cover the entire Mandya district.

Piloting the Bill, Higher Education Minister Dr. C.N. Ashwathnarayan said the creation of new Universities is in line with the NEP-2020 that envisages a University in every district.

The Government will earmark Rs. 2 crore for each University, he added.

However, MLAs, cutting across party lines, asked the Government how the new Universities will fare when the existing Universities are fraught with problems and short of funds.

Acknowledging quality concerns expressed by the House members, Dr. Ashwathnarayan said the Government has grafted the new bill to usher in reforms in terms of accountability and transparency. Underlining the need for moving away from specialised Universities, he said the existing infrastructure will be used for the new Varsities.