BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said that the state government is planning to distribute laptops to students of all degree colleges run by it. This was decided at a meeting of vice-chancellors of universities under the state government.
Siddaramaiah directed the officials to resume the distribution of laptops to SC/ST students, which was stopped some time ago. He told them to distribute laptops to SC students under the Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP) and to those from ST communities under the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP). He directed Manivannan, Principal Secretary of, the Social Welfare Department, to provide Rs 230 crore for the same.
The CM said irrespective of their caste and religion, all students of degree colleges under the government should be given laptops. “We will prepare a plan for the same in the coming days,” he added. Siddaramaiah said 50% of posts in the universities are vacant. In all, 1,882 posts have been filled.
Some vice-chancellors said the universities have to pay salaries for 2,865 guest lecturers and also pensions for retired employees from the funds earmarked for them. This has increased the financial burden on them.
Referring to the allocation of Rs 5,470 crore for universities in this year’s budget, they stressed the need for an additional allocation of Rs 2,474 crore.
CM tells V-Cs to up Gross Enrolment Ratio
More than 88% of the allocation for universities is spent on salaries. How can one expect the universities to take up new initiatives, Siddaramaiah said? He stressed the need for universities to focus on education that helps students to get jobs.
Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah directed the vice-chancellors to take steps to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in the higher education sector. He told them to focus on the districts where the students’ enrollment is poor.
According to a press release from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), the state’s average GER is 36% and that of the country is 27.4%. In Karnataka, the GER of male students is 34.8%, while that of female students is 37.2%. The GER of SC students is 25.6% and that of ST students is 23.4%. The aim is to increase the overall GER to 50% in the next seven years.
Presently, there are 1.31 lakh students in 32 universities in Karnataka. The CM directed the officials to focus on increasing the GER in districts such as Chamarajanagara, Yadgir, Hassan and Kodagu. He also directed them to take steps to improve the quality of education and give importance to research. Vice-chancellors from 32 universities took part in the meeting.