Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Mar 10: There is a proposal to separate the fisheries college in the city that has been functioning under Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University and turn it into a full-fledged fisheries university. To consider the pros and cons relating to this proposal, an expert committee had been formed. The committee met on February 24 at Bengaluru and it is yet to file its final report with the government shortly. Basavarajendra, commissioner in the department of veterinary sciences and animal husbandry, who is the chairman of the said committee, presided over the meeting. Retired professor of Mangalore Fisheries College, Prof I Karunasagar, who is the vice chairman of the committee and members participated. Dakshina Kannada zilla panchayat chief executive officer, Dr Kumar, is one of the members of the committee.

Dean of the fisheries college, Dr Shivakumar Magada, explained about the need to establish a separate university of fisheries sciences and strongly argued in favour of this proposal. The meeting was of the general opinion that separate university can be set up if there are not less than 3,000 students as per the New Education Policy. Reacting to this, Dr Shivakumar said that setting up of university is at the discretion of the state. He said that the state which has a 300 km seashore, has no university for fisheries. He noted that the universities set up in neighbouring states in 1978 and 1982 have become universities while the college established in Karnataka in 1969 has remained as a college.