Bengaluru: The state govt has proposed to bring in a moratorium on new private PU colleges for the next three academic years, with 54% seats in the first year of the course currently going vacant.“There are a huge number of colleges with surplus capacity which are not utilised in recent years. Despite that every year, nearly 100 new colleges are started,” said Bharat S, director of the department of PU education.“A draft (notification) has been published seeking views or objections regarding this. A final decision will be taken after a month,” he added.Karnataka has 6,416 PU colleges – 1,371 of them are state-run, while 3,721 are unaided and 815 aided. There are around 16.8 lakh seats available in these colleges for I PU. However, only 7.8 lakh students have enrolled for higher secondary education. With this, 9 lakh seats remain vacant.Govt colleges have 58% seats vacant, while unaided have around 52% seats unfilled. Aided colleges also have 53% seats vacant, making the average vacancy of PU seats 54% in the state.However, private PU colleges have said they will oppose the move. “A blanket ban is unacceptable. Quality PU education is extremely important as it is the gateway to higher education. Competitive exams require a strong foundation. Govt PU colleges have failed to provide this. Take any results, it is students of private colleges that have made it to the top. In such a situation, how can the govt issue a ban on starting private colleges?” said Mohan Alva, president, Karnataka Unaided PU College Management Association (KUPMA).“There are black sheep among the private colleges, who are into profiteering. There are dummy colleges that are illegal. These colleges collaborate with coaching centres, and the students study in the latter. There are those who are turning black money under the guise of education. There are those chains from other states which are starting branches in several places. The govt should take steps to regulate them and not genuine educators. This moratorium will not stand legal scrutiny,” he said, adding that the govt should have formed a committee before coming to a conclusion.The move is also expected to give a boost to govt PU colleges. The govt has been on a drive to increase admissions in its schools and colleges this year.BOX:Management— No. of colleges– Total seats— vacant seatsAided— 815— 2.3 lakh— 1.2 lakhBifurcated– 158— 95,600— 40,981Corporation– 20– 9,440— 6,563Govt– 1,371– 4.3 lakh– 2.5 lakhKREIS– 147— 24,720— 17,328MWD— 184— 32,320— 24,625Unaided– 3,721– 8.6 lakh– 4.5 lakhGrand total– 6,416— 16.8 lakh— 9 lakhFigures rounded offKREIS: Karnataka Residential Educational Institutions SocietyMWD: Minority welfare departmentSource: PU education dept
