Date:28/12/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/12/28/stories/2006122809310500.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

No science, commerce courses in many district colleges

Special Correspondent

Of the 200 junior colleges sanctioned during 2006, only ten offer science subjects and seven the commerce stream

Bangalore: Karnataka may lag behind in students getting into science and management studies if the Government does not make a rethink on its policy of sanctioning mostly arts colleges in the districts.

Academicians point out that there is a lot of demand for science and commerce courses among students from rural and semi-urban areas who look at career prospects as keenly as their counterparts in larger cities. For this, they need to opt for science subjects right at the Pre-University College level.

Of the 200 junior colleges sanctioned in the State during 2006, only ten are known to offer science subjects and seven, the commerce stream. Officials of the Higher Education Department say that the courses have been selected mainly on the basis of demands from local legislators.

This year, the Government sanctioned six colleges in the Chief Minister's constituency of Ramnagaram and nine in Public Works Minister H.D. Revanna's constituency of Holenarsipura, but none of them apparently have science courses.

However, the story is different in the case of the 275 junior colleges approved to be run by private managements. Almost all of them offer science and commerce subjects, in some cases exclusively so, as the demand is higher. But most of these private colleges will not be in rural areas or even near smaller towns.

Minister for Higher Education Basavaraj Horatti recently told the media that more than 200 applications from private educational institutions were awaiting government approval. Most colleges wanted to start science and commerce courses.