People livid with state government for plan to shut Hassan University; to fight hard to protect ‘jewel’

Hassan:  Members of the “Save Hassan University Struggle Committee” have strongly opposed the recommendation of the State Cabinet to close Hassan University and re-merge it with the University of Mysore.

In this regard, a preliminary meeting was held on March 3 at KSP Bhawan in Hassan under the chairmanship of senior journalist R.P. Venkateshamurthy, and a “Save Hassan University Struggle Committee” comprising people’s organizations, writers, intellectuals and education lovers of the district was discussed and brought into existence.

Dr. Y.S. Veerabhadrappa, a senior social activist of Hassan district, will be the president of this struggle committee. A round table meeting has been called in Hassan on March 16 to intensify the struggle to save Hassan University.

All the people’s representatives, educationists, prominent personalities, leaders of people’s organizations, writers, intellectuals, lecturers of the university and its affiliated colleges, student representatives and parents will be invited to this meeting.

On March 19, it has been decided to hold a massive protest in Hassan demanding the preservation of Hassan University.

The Hemagangotri Postgraduate Centre has existed in Hassan as part of the University of Mysore since 1991. On March 21, 2023, the Karnataka government declared Hemagangotri in Hassan as an independent university.

There are 11 postgraduate departments in the Hemagangotri campus of Hassan University, with a total of 600 students pursuing postgraduate degrees. In addition, there are 56 degree colleges affiliated to Hassan University.

As many as 30,000 students are studying in the degree classes of these colleges and 2,000 students are studying in various postgraduate centres.

Out of this total, a large number of students are female students, students from rural areas and students from socially and economically backward areas.

The state cabinet sub-committee formed to study the condition of the universities in Karnataka has revoked the independent status given to nine universities, including Hassan University. 

It has also recommended merging the previous universities. Due to this, students of Hassan district, especially from rural areas and socially and economically backward students, especially female students, will be deprived of the opportunity to get higher education, the activists said.  

More than 30,000 students who are currently studying in these centres will face great academic difficulties as well, they felt.

The Hassan University campus has an area of ​​only 78.08 acres. Despite the shortage of necessary teaching and non-teaching staff, lack of infrastructure, and lack of necessary grants, Hassan University is working well, they said.

“Due to this, students of the district have also got the opportunity to get higher education locally. This will help a lot in the educational and cultural development of the district. There are many opportunities for our university to develop well in the future and this is also the pride of Hassan district,” they said.

The government, which has reserved 1,000 acres for an IIT that has not yet been sanctioned for Hassan, is going to close the Hassan University, which has been started by itself, without the necessary land, staff, or infrastructure and grants, seems the biggest injustice to the students of Hassan district, they said.   

It is surprising that the district MLAs and MPs have not spoken up about this injustice, they said, and added that it was very sad to note that those who say that Hassan needs an IIT have not raised their voices to save Hassan University, which is more relevant to the district than an IIT for now.

The previous regime in Karnataka hastily established Hassan University without providing any necessary infrastructure, grants and staff and imposed preconditions on its functioning, the activists said, and expressed regret that the current state government is going to close it instead of correcting the shortcomings, which is an insult to the district and its people.