Several teachers and students at Bangalore University have accused the varsity of institutional casteism in various forms and demanded the removal of Vice Chancellor Jayakara Shetty M. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has also taken note of the allegations and directed the Secretary for Higher Education to submit a report.
The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Teachers’ Association of Bangalore University wrote to Jayakara Shetty on July 5, detailing the allegations and demanding their immediate rectification.
The allegations levelled against the university include the approval of transfers of professors from other universities to Bangalore University, allegedly in violation of reservation policies, the denial of remuneration and other entitlements for administrative responsibilities, failure to fill vacant posts, and denial of responsibilities to professors from the Scheduled Castes allegedly due to their caste locations and in violation of rules.
The Post-graduate and Research Students’ Federation of Bangalore University extended support to the professors. They wrote to the Chief Minister on July 15, also accusing the VC of institutional casteism through various forms and demanding his removal.
“We condemn these anti-Dalit actions of the university which seek to undermine the dignity of Dalits in a university where a large number of professors are Dalits,” the SC and ST Teachers’ Association said in its letter.
The allegations have raised concerns of institutional casteism, which compounds the effects of casteism on the marginalised, especially in terms of disparities in hiring, promotions, and access to opportunities.
Transfers of professors from other universities
One of the major allegations against the university is that five professors were transferred to BU in violation of the law. They were allegedly not only transferred “without posts,” but the orders did not clearly mention their seniority or the category under which they would now be placed.
“When a professor is transferred from one university to another without the sanctioned post also being transferred, it upsets everything,” said Professor G Krishnamurthy, the head of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Teachers’ Association of Bangalore University.
State-run universities are sanctioned a set number of posts for each department. Suppose a professor is transferred from one university to another without the transfer of the sanctioned post. In that case, the university to which the professor is being transferred loses the post.
For instance, if a professor is transferred “without the post” to a university department with 10 posts, of which three are vacant, the number of vacancies would reduce to two, and this would in turn affect the number of reserved posts.
“Such a transfer is a loss for our university because the university from which the professor has transferred will have a vacancy which they can fill by hiring someone. But we lose the opportunity to hire a new person. Our university could have accepted the transfer provided the post was also transferred to our university, but that’s not what happened,” Krishnamurthy said.
With five such transfers “without posts” being approved, Bangalore University was losing the opportunity to hire five people, Krishnamurthy explained.
He also said that the transfer orders for the five professors were issued without specifying which category the professors would now be placed under, which is a violation of the reservation roster system. “The Constitution mandates reservations,” Professor Krishnamurthy said.
It has been alleged that the Vice Chancellor had not filled vacancies through recruitment, and instead, citing government pressure, transferred five professors from other universities to various departments in violation of roster rules.
“The Vice Chancellor has violated the rules by transferring professors from outside the university without a post. This was done for the benefit of the dominant castes by ignoring the applicable reservation rules,” the SC and ST Teachers’ Association wrote in its letter dated July 5.
The letter also said, “None of the transferred professors are from scheduled communities. The university has still not decided which roster they have been assigned to. This is against the reservation policy of the government.”
The letter further called on the university to fill up 22 vacancies in the posts for professors from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Professor Krishnamurthy said that the transfer orders should also mention the exact seniority, as these affect opportunities for statutory posts such as deanship, heads of departments, and chairs of departments.
CM seeks response
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote to the Secretary for Higher Education, KG Jagadeesha, on July 11, and directed him to personally inquire into these alleged violations.
The CM said in the letter that professors had been transferred “without posts” and noted that none of the professors were from the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes.
“Since the university has not decided under which roster head they have been transferred, such a transfer becomes a violation of the reservation policy,” the CM said.
The CM also noted that 67 professors had urged the university to fix the seniority levels and the roster proportions.
He directed the Higher Education Secretary to submit a report within 7 days.
Professor Basavaraj Benne was transferred from Shri Krishnadevaraya University in Ballari to the PG Centre in BU, Srinath BS was transferred from the PG Centre of Mangalore University to the microbiology department of BU, Yarriswamy was transferred from the Rani Chennamma University to the Department of Education of BU, KS Chandrashekaraiah was transferred from PG Centre of Mangalore University to biochemistry Department of BU, and Ashwini KN was transferred from the Karnataka State Akka Mahadevi Women’s University in Vijayapura to the physical education department at BU.
Handing over charge during leave
Another allegation the university professors have raised is that Jayakara did not hand over temporary charge to the senior-most dean as mandated by Section 16(1) of the Karnataka State Universities Act 2000 when going on leave.
The vice chancellors of Davangere University, Bangalore City University and Kuvempu University had adhered to this rule when they obtained leave in July 2025 and in 2024, according to documents that TNM has reviewed. The VCs of the three universities mentioned in their letters to various government officials that they were handing over their responsibilities temporarily to the senior-most dean under Section 16(1) of the Karnataka State Universities Act 2000.
Professor Krishnamurthy said that about a year ago, when the VC took leave for a couple of weeks to visit the United Kingdom, he handed over charge to the registrar. “None of the five senior-most deans who could have been given temporary charge of the VC’s duties were tasked with that responsibility,” Professor Krishnamurthy said.
Professor Krishnamurthy and nine other professors had raised this issue, among others, in a letter to the VC dated July 2.
“During a meeting called last Tuesday, the VC did not mention under which rule he acted when he gave temporary charge to the registrar,” Professor Krishnamurthy said.
Vice Chancellor Jayakara did not respond to emails and calls from TNM for his response on the allegations. This story will be updated if and when he responds.
