Mangalore University to suspend four postgraduate courses for 2025–26 over poor admissions
Mangaluru: Mangalore University has decided to discontinue four postgraduate (PG) programmes from the 2025–26 academic year, following a decline in student admissions.
Vice-Chancellor P. L. Dharma said the programmes that will be kept under suspended animation are Electronics, Mass Communication and Journalism (MCJ), Statistics, and Human Resource Development (HRD).
“The university had initially decided to discontinue PG programmes temporarily with fewer than 15 students. Later, it was decided to continue admissions even with at least 10 students,” explained Dharma.
Despite this relaxation, several departments failed to attract adequate candidates. “The Department of Statistics did not receive any admissions last year, while the MCJ Department had only one applicant. Administrative notices have now been issued for the temporary suspension of these programmes,” Deccan Herald quoted him as saying.
The HRD course, he added, lacked a permanent faculty member and was being managed by teachers from the Commerce Department and guest lecturers. The Statistics Department has also been functioning without permanent staff since the retirement of senior professors, while the MCJ and Electronics departments each have one permanent faculty member.
Dharma said the MCJ faculty will continue to handle journalism as an open elective paper, while the Electronics Department’s permanent faculty member has been assigned to assist with the Cyber Security programme.
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RSS man's defamation case against Rahul: Key witness unavailable, hearing adjourned to Dec 20
Thane (PTI): A court in Bhiwandi in Thane district on Saturday adjourned the hearing in the criminal defamation case filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker to December 20 due to non-availability of a crucial prosecution witness.
Advocate Narayan Iyer, counsel for Rahul Gandhi, confirmed the adjournment, stating that the witness, Ashok Saykar, currently Deputy Superintendent of Police in Barshi in Solapur, could not remain present due to personal reasons.
Saykar's evidence is now likely to be recorded on December 29.
His testimony is considered key because he, as police sub inspector in 2014, conducted the preliminary inquiry into the private defamation matter under Section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
It was on the basis of Saykar's submitted report that the court subsequently issued process (summons) against Rahul Gandhi under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The criminal defamation case was filed by local RSS worker Rajesh Kunte following a speech given by Rahul Gandhi at an election rally near Bhiwandi on March 6, 2014.
The case stems from the Congress leader's alleged statement that "the RSS people killed (Mahatma) Gandhi."
The matter is being heard by Bhiwandi Joint Civil Judge, Junior Division, P M Kolse.
The hearing had previously been adjourned on November 15 after the complainant's counsel, Advocate Prabodh Jaywant, moved an application seeking permission to examine Saykar, who had submitted the probe report to the court.
The matter was originally scheduled for November 29 but was deferred to December 6 after Rahul Gandhi's legal team sought an adjournment citing their non-availability. The proceedings will now resume on December 20.
