The academic year 2021-22 may see an increase in the number of students applying to undergraduate (UG) courses in Karnataka this year. With the second Pre-University (PU) examinations getting cancelled due to the second wave of COVID-19 infections, the Karnataka government had announced that all the second-year PU students will be passed. Amid the increase in the number of students who have passed due to the cancellation of exams, universities across the state are also expecting a higher number of applications for admissions to UG courses and are planning methods to tackle the same.
Speaking to TNM, Professor Lingaraja Gandhi, the Vice-Chancellor (V-C) of Bengaluru City University (BCU), said that every year, on average, there are around 50,000 applications for admission to UG courses. However, this year, he expects an additional 15,000 to 20,000 applicants. Professor KB Gudasi, the V-C of Karnataka University based in Dharwad district, also said that they are expecting a similar increase in numbers. Shivamogga-based Kuvempu University Vice-Chancellor Professor BP Veerabhadrappa said that the number of applications may even double.
In this situation, all the three V-Cs whom TNM spoke to said that they are considering introducing two shifts for classes, so that the additional admissions can be incorporated. Professor Veerabhadrappa told TNM that a meeting was conducted with all the principals of colleges affiliated with Kuvempu University and it has been decided that classes will be held in two shifts.
“Because everyone was promoted, there is a lot of pressure on us. Now, for example, if there were four sections in a given stream, they now need to be expanded to eight. So, it will be split into two shifts — one beginning from 8 am and the other beginning from 1 pm,” he says.
In addition to having shifts, other strategies like allowing a higher number of seats in colleges where there is adequate infrastructure, and running evening colleges like a full-fledged college, are also being contemplated.
Professor P Subrahmanya Yadapadithaya, the V-C of Mangalore University, said, “We intend to have a meeting about the issue and we are definitely expecting a higher number of students. This is an extraordinary situation and students should not be denied education. So, we are thinking of making the evening colleges full-fledged, to allow more students to get seats.”
Professor Lingaraja Gandhi said, “This year, we are thinking of allowing the colleges to increase the number of seats if required.”
Professor Subramanya also pointed out that the increase in students might help colleges where seats were not getting filled in the past. “There are some colleges where for many years they have had vacant seats, and some would have come to the point of closing down. I believe that the condition of these colleges will improve,” he said.
Uneven distribution of admission
However, the number of admissions colleges receive is not evenly distributed. Government colleges have been receiving more applications than they have in previous years, and government-aided colleges are not getting as many applications, said principals of many such colleges TNM spoke to.
Principal Arun Kumar Sonappavar, of KLE Society’s Nijalingappa College in Bengaluru, said, “We had expected a lot of rush, but on the contrary, the admission is slow this time. One reason could be that there is more time this year as the academic year starts in October. The Commerce stream is generally the most in-demand and it is being filled as usual. There are some vacancies in Science and Arts courses.”
TG Janardhan, Principal of MES Degree College in Bengaluru, also expressed a similar concern with his college. He said that though they have been receiving applications, they aren’t getting flooded. Janardhan attributed this to the income hit suffered by a large section of the middle-income group due to the pandemic.
“Government-aided colleges like ours majorly cater to middle-income groups and this section has taken a serious hit in terms of earnings due to the pandemic. I believe that they are now going to government colleges,” he said.
This was supported by what government college principals told TNM. Prakash, who is the principal of Peenya Government First Grade College in Bengaluru, said, “I think students are opting to come to government colleges as they have been hit due to the pandemic. Generally, what we have seen in the past is that it would take around a month for 100 students to apply from when we began taking applications. But this year, it has just been eight days and we have over 100 applicants. I feel that a lot more students are preferring government colleges this time.”
Sreenivasaiah N, the principal of Doddaballapura Government First Grade College, also felt that there may be an increase in applications to government colleges as the fees would be lower. According to his estimate, there would be over a 20% increase in applications in his college. Another reason that students might be preferring government colleges, he said, is that there were several scholarships available to government college students and that the government will provide a tablet to each student for free. He also said that students would prefer to travel less amid the pandemic. “There are a lot of students who would travel from Doddaballapur to Bengaluru city for education. But this time, students are preferring to get admission to a college closer to their homes, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”