Mysuru: The Karnataka State Gangubai Hangal Music and Performing Arts University has at last decided to provide hostel facility to students coming from other parts of the State. Besides, the University is also on the lookout for a building to conduct classes.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Registrar Dr. Nagesh V. Bettakote said that the decision to provide hostel facilities to students was taken at the Syndicate Meeting held last week and hence, they were on the lookout for a place nearby to the University to house the students.

He said that the Music University has been facing a lot of problems since its inception almost ten years ago as it does not have a permanent building of its own, permanent faculty and even a full time Vice-Chancellor now.

One of the Syndicate Members Prof. S.C. Sharma, Director, NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council), was emphatic that the students should be provided separate hostel facility as many of them have come from other parts of the State to study.

“We have first decided to hire on rent three rooms either in the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) or University of Mysore (UoM) Guest Houses to house the guests who come to our University. We are also looking for hostel space for both boys and girls separately either in Chamarajapuram, Lakshmipuram, Ashokapuram or Krishnamurthypuram,” said Dr. Bettakote.

One of the students, who spoke to Star of Mysore on condition of anonymity, said that the students find it extremely difficult to stay in hostels where there are other students as they cannot practise music after classes as this will disturb other students. Hence, they need a separate hostel for themselves where there are facilities provided to practise music.

Asked about this issue, Dr. Bettakote said that this problem existed as they found that when they accommodated their students in other community hostels, the students there complained that they could not study due to disturbance the Music Varsity students created while they practised. On how many students there were in the University, he said that there were a total of 192 students both in Under Graduate and Post Graduate classes combined and girls outnumbered boys.

“This is the second Music University to be set up in the country. But it has been given a step-motherly treatment as it does not have a place of its own to function. The eight acre plot in Sathagalli, close to the Visvesvaraya Technology University (VTU) Regional Centre, cannot be used as a high tension wire runs across the land. Since ours is a Music University and performances will be held regularly, we cannot hold them because of the proximity to the high                                                 tension wire,” he said.

The 43 acres land near Hunsur is also an unviable proposition as the campus needs to be within 20-km radius of the main office, he added.

It is more than a month since Higher Education Minister G.T. Devegowda (GTD) assured to solve the problems that the students were facing, but so far the file has not moved at all, told an official in the University, to              Star of Mysore.

Meanwhile, sources in the University said that the Search Committee has short-listed three names for the post of the Vice-Chancellor but two of them have allegedly exceeded their age limit as they have crossed 63 years of age.

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