The Bangalore University (BU) will celebrate its 50th anniversary on February 5. Governor and Chancellor of Universities H.R. Bhardwaj and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, among others are expected to participate.
Announcing this at a press conference here on Monday, BU Vice-Chancellor B. Thimme Gowda said an ‘advisory committee’ is also being formed with some eminent persons such as Infosys founder N. R. Narayan Murthy, scientist C.N.R. Rao, distinguished alumni such as Union Minister M. Veerappa Moily, former Union Minster S.M. Krishna and former Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde to discuss the course of celebrations.
Recalling the varsity’s past, established in 1964 in the Central College campus, Prof. Gowda, who took over as Vice-Chancellor about a year ago, said the campus was the ‘heart’ of the varsity. Commenting on affiliated government colleges in and around the Central College campus that have sought cluster college status, he said it may not be economically viable for them to conduct their own exams.
About reports of the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE) also eyeing university status, Prof. Gowda said the BU had no qualms in letting that happen. “But the civil engineering and architecture departments are here (in the BU campus). We will retain them. This way, the faculty can also choose which varsity they would like to be in,” he said.
Prof. Gowda also said the varsity will place a request for funds from the State government on February 5 before the Chief Minister. While there are restructured academic programmes to look forward to in the next academic year (four-year undergraduate courses and choice-based postgraduate courses), the varsity, to commemorate its golden jubilee, also plans to construct a golden jubilee bhavan, institute golden jubilee awards and organise an exhibition on the varisty’s past and its achievements.
Regarding the common academic calendar that the State government has proposed for all State varsities, Prof. Gowda said: “This year, we will start undergraduate courses by June 30 (instead of June 1 to 15) and post-graduate courses by August 1 (instead of July 15 to 31). We will have to factor in the time for evaluation of exam papers and announcement of results. Next year onwards, we will stick to the schedule.”
