Govt colleges rely on private ones for lab facilities in Karnataka

Twelve private colleges in Karnataka have raised a bill of INR 29,68,500 for letting the government colleges use their facilities from 2013-14 to 2020-21, which has now been sent to the government.

Twelve private engineering colleges in Karnataka have raised a bill of INR 30 lakh for allowing seven of their government counterparts to use their lab facilities for classes and exams for seven academic years, The Times of India reported.

While the government colleges claim not to have basic lab facilities, forcing them to rely on private ones in the neighbourhood, the higher education department now wants to know what happened to the annual grants the government has been providing to colleges. 

The seven government colleges in Hassan, Gangavathi (Koppal), Karwar, KR Pet, Chamarajanagar, Vijayanagar, and Raichur were built in 2007-08. The institutes have been relying on private colleges for lab work since 2013-14. The private colleges have raised a bill of INR 29,68,500 for letting the government colleges use their facilities from 2013-14 to 2020-21, which has now been sent to the government. 

The government engineering college in Hassan has to pay over INR 10 lakh to Malnad College of Engineering. The one in Karwar owes KLE MS Sheshagiri Institute of Technology and Anjuman Institute of Technology, Bhatkal, a sum of INR 7.6 lakh. The government college in Raichur owes Navodaya Institute of Technology and SLN College INR 2.5 lakh. The government engineering college in KR Pet has been using facilities at PES Mandya, creating a bill of INR 4.8 lakh. It’s the same story with other government colleges in Chamarajanagar, Vijayanagar, and Gangavathi. 

The higher education department has now raised a query as to why despite providing grants year on year, the government colleges have no facilities of their own. The commissioner of technical education has been asked to submit a report in this regard within a week. 

Read more: 

• Budget 2023 delivers boost for lab-grown diamonds, but how are they different from natural diamonds? 
• Union Budget 2023-24: Marginal hike in allocation for IITs, NITs, IISERs 
• JEE Main Session 1 concludes, check paper analysis, student reaction here