The jurisdiction of the century-old University of Mysore (UoM) will henceforth be confined to Mysuru district instead of four districts after the government’s move to establish varsities in Mandya, Chamarajanagar, and Hassan. The UoM’s control will now be limited to less than 100 first grade colleges.
The number of students studying in UoM will also come down from 1.26 lakh to around 40,000 students.
UoM Vice-Chancellor G. Hemantha Kumar told The Hindu that the number of colleges affiliated to UoM would reduce to 75. “We may be asked to go ahead with PG admissions but if everything goes as expected then the new universities may start admissions in November. If not, this year’s PG admission may have to be continued by UoM itself. Further details in this regard are awaited,” he said.
The Vice-Chancellor said the final year undergraduate examination had been scheduled for September. “We are planning to announce results in October and go for PG admissions in November. If a notification on new universities comes at the earliest, then we have to see how the admission process will be carried out,” he added.
Prof. Kumar said 1.26 lakh students were now studying in UoM and the number may come down to about 40,000 once the colleges get affiliated to the new universities. However, the student strength on Manasagangotri campus may not drop, as many students may continue to study here considering the infrastructure and lab facilities, he felt.
The government is yet to announce if the new universities would come up at the PG centers of UoM in Hassan, Mandya, and Chamarajanagar.
In fact, Prof. Kumar had headed an expert committee to study the feasibility of establishing a university in Chamarajanagar.
In March, the Chief Minister had announced seven model universities with the government’s plans of having universities in every district for improving the functioning and supervision of degree colleges.
Chamarajanagar, which is backward, was among seven districts where the model universities were proposed for catering to the higher education needs of the people, besides Kodagu and Hassan.
It was stated that the proposed universities had to be smarter and function with minimal infrastructure and manpower, maximising the use of information technology for their overall functioning.
Prof. Kumar said the committee had recommended setting aside ₹100 crore for the university in Chamarajanagar.
