Karnataka Budget: Model universities for Chamarajanagar and Kodagu

They would use IT, minimise manpower requirement, and thus make them different from conventional universities; Hassan, Bidar, Bagalkot, Koppal and Haveri have also got such universities

Chamarajanagar, one of the backward districts in Karnataka, will soon have its own university catering to the higher education needs of the people as Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced setting up of model universities in seven districts, including Chamarajanagar and Kodagu.

What’s special about these universities? They would function with minimal infrastructure and manpower, harnessing the strengths of information technology (IT) for their overall functioning.

In his maiden budget, the CM announced the seven model universities in Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Hassan, Bagalkot, Bidar, Haveri, and Koppal, which are considered educationally backward. The announcement has perhaps come in the wake of the government’s purported plans of having universities in every district for improving the functioning and supervision of degree colleges.

“Maximum utilisation of IT without additional requirement of manpower will make these universities different from conventional universities. The facilities available in the PG centres will be used by these universities and the annual recurring expenditure would be ₹2 crore each,” the CM said.

Chamarajanagar comes under University of Mysore (UoM) and Kodagu under Mangalore University.

Chamarajanagar PG centre is the UoM’s third campus, and the first grade colleges – government and private – are affiliated to the UoM. The PG campus is spread over 54 acres on Mysore-Chamarajanagar road near Chamarajanagar town. The UoM offers 10 courses on campus.

The expert committee constituted by the Karnataka Government to look into the possibility of establishing a full-fledged university on the PG campus of University of Mysore (UoM) in Chamarajanagar had submitted its report in August 2021. The committee, headed by UoM Vice-Chancellor G. Hemantha Kumar, had visited the campus and also had a couple of meetings, including with the district administration, for eliciting opinions and studying the practicality of establishing the university in the backward district.