University College of Engineering in Bengaluru. (Representative image)
Credit: DH Photo
Considering the number of seats lying vacant in government engineering colleges every year, Higher Education Minister Dr M C Sudhakar has sought a report from the Karnataka State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) on the functioning of government-run colleges, in comparison with private ones.
The minister said he has instructed the officials of the Higher Education Council to constitute an expert panel to visit the colleges and gather information from students and staff about the academic requirements at the government colleges to attract students.
Speaking to DH Dr Sudhakar said, “If students are choosing private colleges over government-run institutions despite the fee structure being high in private ones, there should be some specific reason. We need to examine this. I have asked the Higher Education Council members to submit a comparative study report.”
Sudhakar said that in case the report reveals lack of infrastructure in the engineering institutions run by the government, then he will pitch in for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
“Firstly, we need to know where we are lacking and take actions to fix them. If infrastructure is the major issue, then we will go for CSR initiatives,” the minister explained.
There are over 16 government engineering colleges in the state and during 2023 academic year, of the total 5,769 seats available in government colleges, as many as 1,550 seats were left unfilled. In 2022, seats available for allotment in government colleges were 5,433, of which 1,899 fell vacant.
Data available from the Karnataka Examinations Authority reveals that some streams have failed attract even a single student.
For example, during 2023, the government engineering college in Gangavathi had zero admissions for Mechanical, while the college in Hoovinahadagali got single student for this stream. The scenario is the same in colleges located in Ramanagara, Kushalnagar, KR Pet and Haveri, which witnessed single-digit admissions.
Meanwhile, the minister mentioned that not just infrastructure, if the quality of teaching is low compared to private colleges, the government will take necessary measures even to improve that.
“I have specified the officials to get opinion of the staff and students to know what their expectations and requirements are,” Dr Sudhakar said.
He said that he is aware about the placement issue in government colleges and once the report is ready the department will plan to strengthen placement cells in the colleges. He has instructed to submit the report in 90 days.