Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Feb 17: To promote higher education and increase student enrollment in government degree colleges across urban, rural, and backward areas, the department of collegiate education has initiated an admission campaign well ahead of exam results.

As part of the initiative, the department has already provided government degree colleges with a list of nearby government pre-university colleges. The principals and lecturers of degree colleges have been instructed to provide detailed information about the infrastructure and courses offered at their institutions, as well as the career opportunities available after completing these courses. The goal is to boost student enrollment in government degree colleges.

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Karnataka currently has 430 government first-grade colleges. However, in the past four to five years, only 18,000 to 20,000 students have enrolled annually. Alarmingly, nearly 100 government degree colleges have fewer than 100 students each. Every year, more than five lac students complete their pre-university courses, yet government colleges struggle with low admissions.

To address this issue, the department of collegiate education has chosen February as the target month to attract students, even before the PUC exams begin. Since PUC students attend classes only in February before focusing on their exams in March, the department sees this as an ideal time to influence their college choices. The goal for the 2025–26 academic year is to achieve at least 75% admissions in government colleges. Additionally, any college that had an admission rate below 75% in 2024–25 must increase its intake by at least 10% compared to the previous academic year.

The department has also mandated the presence of permanent lecturers at the admission help desks, ensuring a rotational system for smooth operations.

The department has observed that some students enroll in government colleges but fail to fill out exam applications or continue their studies in subsequent years. If the dropout rate in any course exceeds 25%, the principal of the respective college will be held accountable.

"As part of the admission campaign, all participating colleges must submit weekly progress reports through a Google Sheet to the regional commissioner's office. Over the past four to five years, government degree colleges have made significant improvements in infrastructure and introduced new courses. This campaign aims to inform students about these developments and encourage them to opt for government colleges, where quality education is available at a lower cost," stated Manjushree, commissioner of the department of collegiate and technical education.