Former chief secretary S V Ranganath will chair the panel that will decide the fate of University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE) on whether it will remain in Bangalore University’s control or be handed over to Bangalore Central University.

A government order should be issued shortly, BH Anil Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, Higher Education, confirmed. Prof S A Kori, who previously chaired a committee to decide on BU trifurcation, will also be part of this committee.Anil Kumar told TNIE, “The Kori Committee was constituted to look into all issues pertaining to BU’s trifurcation. This panel will look into UVCE ownership.”

When asked about the resolution the principal and HoDs of UVCE came out with, citing reasons to remain with BU, he said, “The committee will examine the resolution they have passed and come out with their findings. The government will decide based on that. The GO will be issued on Tuesday.”

“The chairperson will decide on the date of the meeting. There is no deadline. The varsities may have their opinions but the government will take a decision that is in the best interest of the students and faculty. This committee has been formed to give a fair chance to everybody — BU and BCU,” he added.

Ranganath, Vice-Chairman of Karnataka State Higher Education Council, said, “I haven’t received the GO yet. Possibly there is something to be said for both sides — BU and BCU. But I haven’t gone too deeply into it. After the committee is formed, I will be able to comment.”

“Committee after committee will be formed but they’re unlikely to touch UVCE under BU till 2022, till the current engineering batch graduates. According to the All India Council for Technical Education handbook, two campuses of a college can exist within a distance of 20km. The distance between KR Circle campus and Jnana Bharathi campus is 11.3km, so it’s well within the permitted radius,” a senior BU official said.

A senior UVCE official said, “We have submitted our resolution to the BU registrar. Our teachers and students don’t want to be disturbed. Choice-Based Credit System was implemented with great difficulty. We declared our results in record time. The momentum has been created towards autonomy. We are expecting government to appoint teachers so that we can get NBA accreditation.”

Source: New Indian Express