Mysuru: In the Specialist Universities category, the Mysuru-based Karnataka State Dr. Gangubai Hangal Music and Performing Arts University in 2017 with a score of 333/1000 had secured ninth rank. This time, though the score improved with the University securing 541/1000, still it was relegated to the 11th place.

Music University in-charge Vice-Chancellor Nagesh V. Bettakote told SOM  that though the University had slipped in ranking it had actually improved its status from two star to three star category. “The problem for us is in the categorisation as we have been categorised under the Specialist Universities where Agriculture and Horticulture Universities are there. But among the real Specialist Universities like Kannada Univeristy, Sanskrit University, Folklore University and our Music University, we rank second, while Sanskrit University for instance with much better facilities is ranked behind us,” he said.

According to Bettakote, the main problem the University is facing is lack of teaching faculty. This has affected the research work. “There must be nine Departments with 45 teachers but now we have no teachers. Hence, we feel that we should not be identified with Specialist Universities and should have our own category. But one must also note that traditional Universities like Gulbarga, Bengaluru Central and North do not even feature in the rankings, whereas our University with hardly any proper facilities has moved from two star to three star status,” he said and added “Once we have our own campus then we will be among the top Universities.”