BENGALURU: University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), Bengaluru, which is the only constituent engineering college of Bangalore University (BU), has been facing 50% faculty shortage for the past 20 years, varsity’s Vice-Chancellor Prof K R Venugopal has said.Prof Venugopal, who took as the varsity’s VC recently, was earlier the principal of UVCE. “For more than 20 years now, the college is running the show with shortage of staff. We have requested the state government to fill the vacancies and we hope that it will give its nod,” he told reporters here on Friday.
According to the data obtained from BU, the sanctioned teacher post for UVCE is 175 of which only 96 have been filled and the varsity has appointed guest lecturers to make up for the shortage. The issue of staff shortage is not just affecting academics, but is also one of the main reasons for UVCE not getting accreditation from the National Board of Accreditation (NAB).
UVCE, which is celebrating its centenary year this year, is one of the most sought-after engineering colleges in the state. Over 4,500 undergraduate students pursue various technical courses in the college.
“To get NAB accreditation, all posts of teaching and non-teaching should be filled. We are trying our best to get the accreditation and after that we want to make UVCE an autonomous college and a deemed-to-be university,” he added.
On ownership
Both Bengaluru Central University (BCU) and BU are claiming ownership of UVCE. The Kori panel, which was formed to submit a report on BU trifurcation, had recommended UVCE should remain with BU and be shifted to Jnanabharathi. Meanwhile, a recent order by the Higher Education Department said UVCE falls under BCU’s jurisdiction. Venugopal said, “We have taken a decision in the recent Syndicate that UVCE should be promoted as an autonomous institute in four years and it will remain with BU. This communication will be sent to BCU.”
On auditorium row
The VC said BU was constructing an auditorium at its Jnanabharathi campus and it is expected to be completed in 18 months. After that, the Jnana Jyoti auditorium will be handed over to BCU, he added.