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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Governor urges enhanced budgetary support for higher education in state budget
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Saturday urged the state government to provide stronger budgetary backing to the Higher Education department in the forthcoming state budget.
Presiding over the Karnataka State Public Universities Vice Chancellors’ Conference–2026, organised by Lok Bhavan in collaboration with the Higher Education department and the Karnataka Higher Education Council, the Governor stressed that public universities require structured and sustained financial support, a press release issued by Lok Bhavan said.
“Universities, having limited internal revenue sources, require special financial care and structured budgetary support,” the release quoted Gehlot as saying, while appealing to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to ensure the March 6 State Budget is more beneficial to higher education.
The Governor expressed satisfaction over the Chief Minister’s participation in the conference and voiced confidence that the upcoming budget would prioritise higher education.
He specifically called for filling long-pending vacancies in institutions such as Karnataka State Dr Gangubai Hangal Music and Performing Arts University, Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Kannada University, Karnataka Janapada University, and Dr B R Ambedkar School of Economics University, along with adequate financial provisions for their development.
Emphasising the need to strengthen government universities, Gehlot said deliberations at the conference reflected Karnataka’s readiness to steer higher education in a new direction.
He also called for increasing admissions in government institutions and examining why students prefer private universities despite higher fees.
The Governor stressed strict adherence to academic calendars to ensure timely admissions, examinations and declaration of results.
Improved coordination between Vice Chancellors and Registrars, upskilling of academic staff, curriculum updates aligned with present-day needs and the introduction of job-oriented courses were identified as priorities.
Highlighting campus development, he stressed the need to improve quality, cleanliness and greenery, and urged active implementation of initiatives such as “One Tree for Mother.”
He also encouraged universities to promote sports participation to enable students to represent institutions at district, state, national and international levels.
On governance and transparency, Gehlot pressed for strict compliance with central and UGC guidelines within stipulated timelines.
The release said he emphasised that institutional credibility depends on resolving internal disputes democratically and maintaining transparency in financial matters.
He added that the Chancellor must foster harmony among stakeholders to avoid unnecessary inquiries and administrative disruptions.
The Governor suggested that universities expand international collaborations for academic and student exchange, enhance national rankings and address faculty shortages and infrastructure gaps.
Leveraging central schemes and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds was suggested as a way to bridge financial constraints with State support.
According to him, universities should preference to Indian traditional dress as uniform attire during annual convocation ceremonies to promote cultural heritage.
The conference commenced with the rendition of Vande Mataram, Jana Gana Mana and Naada Geethe. Higher Education Minister M C Sudhakar welcomed participants and outlined the objectives of the conference.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar were among those present on the occasion.
