No decision taken on closing universities, Cabinet sub-committee yet to submit report: Karnataka CM

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday told the Assembly that no decision has been taken on closing universities and that the Cabinet Sub-Committee report is yet to be submitted.

Responding to concerns raised by opposition party members in the house, the Chief Minister questioned why the BJP is expressing anxiety even before the report is presented.

He said that the Sub-Committee, chaired by Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, has been formed to conduct a comprehensive review of the matter. It has yet to submit its report, and once it is received, it will be placed before the Cabinet for a decision.

Holding that there is no basis for the claim that universities will be shut down before the report is even out and no such decision has been made by the government, Siddaramaiah said that the issue does not warrant discussion under the provision of an Adjournment Motion as there is no such emergency to take up the matter by ahead of other subjects.

Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka said that the statements of the Chief Minister contradict what Shivakumar and Higher Education Minister M.C. Sudhakar had said as Shivakumar already stated that the government has decided to shut down new universities and the Cabinet Sub-Committee has already made its decision in this regard.

At this, Siddaramaiah maintained that no such decision is made and when the report is submitted, it will be taken up in the Cabinet meeting. Only after discussion in the Cabinet meeting, the decision will be made, he reiterated, asking Speaker U.T. Khader not to take up the matter for discussion under an Adjournment Motion as the provision meant for recent occurrence.

BJP's Basanagouda Patil Yatnal stated that as the statement on shutting universities was made recently by Shivakumar, it has become a relevant subject. Siddaramaiah, however, maintained that the discussion could take place only after the decision is made and no such decision has been made currently.

BJP member and former Deputy CM C.N. Ashwath Narayan raised the issue in the house.

The purported decision of the Karnataka government to bring down the shutters on nine of the 10 new universities that were established during the tenure of the BJP government after it was found that only one of them was fully-functional has led to big controversy in the state.

Sources stated that the universities of Hassan, Chamarajanagar, Haveri, Kodagu, Koppal, Bagalkot, Maharani Cluster in Bengaluru, Mandya, and Nrupatunga are most likely to be shut down following the decision.

However, the government has decided to continue with the Bidar University as it is a fully functional university and has 150 affiliated colleges and is generating good income.

Asked whether the government plans to shut down certain universities if necessary, Shivakumar had responded: "We will make decisions keeping the best interests of the state, universities, and students in mind.”

The BJP has declared that it won’t allow the Congress-led government to shut down nine new universities established during its tenure.