Bengaluru: If admission trends in govt colleges are any indication, BCA and BBA courses are emerging as the top choices among students this year. In response to the rising demand, the commissionerate of collegiate education has decided to allow 26 govt first-grade colleges to introduce BBA and BCA programmes.The colleges that sought to start new programmes are mainly from Dharwad and Kalaburagi regions. The department said steps will be taken to start the courses only after obtaining approval from the All India Council of Technical Education.Another 186 colleges will increase their intake for BA, BCom and BSc programmes, including BCA and BBA. For instance, Govt First Grade College in Raichur will get 270 more seats to increase its total intake to 300. SSA Govt First Grade College in Ballari has increased BCom seats by 100. Jamkhandi College has improved intake in two BA programmes, history and political science, by 100 each.Many colleges have agreed to run evening shifts with the existing infrastructure to ensure a large number of students can be accommodated. “The principals are willing to conduct classes in two shifts as per the requirement in the few colleges that lack building, furniture and computer infrastructure,” said the department of collegiate education in a proposal it initially sent to the govt.“If students from rural areas can get admission in govt colleges for new courses that are in market demand at minimal cost, these courses will not only help the future of the students but will also increase the general admission ratio (GER) of higher education,” the department stated.The courses being introduced are in line with industry demands and will include apprenticeship-embedded learning programmes. At the same time, 458 programmes will be closed down for the 2026-27 academic year and intake will be reduced in 1,480 colleges. TOI reported earlier that more than 1,091 undergraduate and 170 postgraduate programmes had no intake last year. Minister for higher education MC Sudhakar said they would consider closing down some of those.The programmes being closed are three-subject combinations, including history, political science, Kannada and sociology, among others. The number reduced ranges from 20 to 100 seats.The collegiate department noted the failure to reduce intake will result in the university continuing to bear the burden of paying affiliation fee to AICTE. It will also affect the cumulative grade point average scores and thus the National Assessment and Accreditation Council grading.
