Cabinet to decide fate of Mandya, Kodagu, Hassan, Chamarajanagar and six other Universities

Bengaluru/Mysuru: In a decision set to have significant educational consequences, the Karnataka Cabinet will determine the fate of ten Universities established during the previous BJP tenure.

The Congress Government claims that the BJP-led administration created 10 Universities — Hassan, Bidar, Chamarajanagar, Haveri, Kodagu, Koppal, Bagalkot, Maharani Cluster, Mandya and Nrupathunga — without allocating sufficient land or funds, violating State regulations. Only Bidar University will be retained, sources said.

Addressing the media in Bengaluru yesterday, Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar stated that students from Mandya and Chamarajanagar prefer to remain affiliated with the University of Mysore (UoM), resulting in declining enrolments at the newly established institutions.

However, some Vice-Chancellors have said that the decision to shut ten Universities will hit the economically backward students hard. “They will be severely disadvantaged. We appeal to the Government to reconsider the decision,” they said.

CM Siddaramaiah formed a Cabinet Sub-Committee under Shivakumar’s leadership to assess their viability. The meeting on Thursday (Feb. 13, 2025), reviewed financial conditions and operational challenges. Experts and officials shared their views and the Sub-Committee will present these findings to the CM before placing the report before the Cabinet for a final decision.

According to the Cabinet Sub-Committee findings, the biggest challenge is a faculty shortage as Professors and staff are unwilling to transfer due to salary, seniority and pension issues.

Each Varsity requires Rs. 347 crore over five years and no land or grants were provided while setting up 10 Universities. This has reduced constituent colleges and slashed revenues.