The Karnataka State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) has proposed entrance exams for all postgraduate (PG) courses from this academic year in state-run universities. This is to improve and maintain the quality of PG degree-holders.
The exams will be conducted by respective universities for enrollment of students.
A meeting with vice-chancellors will be held soon.
The student community, however, has opposed the move and appealed to the government to not accept the proposal. The groups have expressed that this will further affect the admission numbers for higher studies, which are already dwindling in the state.
SR Niranjana, Vice-Chairman, KSHEC, told The New Indian Express, “We are thinking of implementing the new rule from this academic year. Having said that, I want to emphasise that this is not a new phenomenon in state universities. Already a few universities, like Mysuru, are conducting PG entrances. We are simply looking at uniforming the process.”
He said the examinations will be conducted by respective universities and the test papers will also be prepared by different departments.
“For admission, the existing practice will be continued, which is 50% weightage for degree marks and 50% secured in the entrance exam. A VCs' meeting will soon be called to brief them and start the process,” Niranjana added.
Meanwhile, student communities called the proposal “anti-education”.
Allamaprabhu Bettaduru, Karnataka State President, All-India Save Education Committee (AISEC), said, “This proposal, if implemented, will result in the centralisation of universities and their admission process. PG seats will be virtually sold to wealthy students. The history of all entrance examinations is the painful history of the mushrooming of coaching institutions and the further swindling of students in the name of examinations. Every entrance examination has systematically eliminated the poor and meritorious from pursuing higher education.”
He said VCs should reject this proposal as it is a direct infringement on the autonomy of universities and the constitutionally guaranteed right of admission of every individual.
L Gomathi Devi, VC, Maharani Cluster University, said entrance exams are a good move. They should be, however, course-specific and demand-specific.
“I don’t think this discourages students from opting for higher education. However, certain courses, such as Humanities, Sociology, and MCom, have low enrollment and need no entrance exams,” she said.
