Bengaluru Central University’s Journalism department to be shut for a year, courtesy staff shortage

There are several students who are from the colleges that come under the BCU and are residing in areas such as KR Puram and Ramamurthy Nagar.

Bengaluru Central University. (File Photo)

BENGALURU: The decision taken by Bengaluru Central university  (BCU) to shut the Journalism and Mass Communication Department has caused lots of inconvenience to students who have graduated from the colleges that come under BCU and who were aspiring to pursue post-graduate course in Journalism and Mass Communication this year.

Citing shortage of teaching staff and lack of equipment at the department, the BCU authorities have decided not to start the course for the current academic year and also have not invited applications for it. The notification on suspension of the course was issued recently.

There are several students who are from the colleges that come under the BCU and are residing in areas such as KR Puram and Ramamurthy Nagar. They now have to travel all the way to Jnana Bharathi campus or to Bengaluru North University located in Kolar to pursue their PG in Journalism and Mass Communication. 

“It takes three hours for a student residing in KR Puram to reach Jnana Bharathi campus and again three hours to return. In between, the student has to attend six hours of classes. One should think of these students before taking such decisions,” said a guest faculty who was teaching at the Journalism and Mass Communication Department at Central College. Meanwhile, senior professors who have served in Central College’s Journalism and Mass Communication Department are saddened by BCU’s decision. Second-year students are still studying at the Central College campus, with Bangalore University conducting classes for them. They would be the last batch to graduate from this department.

“The BCU authorities are saying that there is a shortage of faculty and lack of necessary equipment to run the course. They need to understand that to conduct classes in journalism and mass communication no lab equipment or studio is needed. Those are needed for a course in electronic media. Teachers can be recruited too like they have done for other courses they have started this year. They can even rope in guest faculty,” said another senior professor of BU.

When contacted, authorities of BCU said it was just a temporary measure. “It is not that we shut down the course permanently. Considering the shortage of staff and lack of facilities, we are not offering courses for the current academic year,” said Prof M Ramachandra Gowda, registrar of BCU.