Girls make a mark at Tumakuru varsity again

TUMAKURU: Tumkur University (TU), which was established in 2004, has emerged as a beacon for girls’ higher education. Over the past many years, not only has the enrollment of girl students for the higher education increased, but also their academic performance has been remarkable.A lion’s share of gold medals awarded at the university have also been bagged by girl students -- out of 102 gold medals in different post-graduate programmes, 78 were bagged by girls, while in UG programmes, the girls secured 58 out of 76 ranks in the academic year 2018-19.

The varsity, which held it’s 13th convocation on Tuesday, has a reason to smile as it has been contributing to the increase in the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) for girl students, at over 26 per cent. In terms of the enrollment for tertiary education for UG, as many as 10,384 girls enrolled, compared to 7,406 boys. With regard to progress, 1,084 girls scored distinction, while among boys, 363 of them were in the distinction bracket. 

The pass percentage among girls is also higher at 48.42, compared to 36.57 among boys. In post-graduation programmes too, out of 1,587 students, 1,025 women (84.85 per cent) passed, as against 562 men (81.33 per cent). In Ph.D., however, 52 men received doctoral degrees for their theses, as against 42 women. The trend was set five years ago, when more girls started securing ranks. Parents, especially from rural parts, seemingly got convinced as higher education has been accessible for their girl children at their doorstep, which has been one of the factors for the high-level of enrollment for higher education.  Divyamani M C, who secured first rank in MCom, belongs to Scheduled Tribe category, and is preparing for the assistant professor examination. Her parents Chikkaramaiah and Tulasamma are illiterates. 

“I am so happy that my daughter is fulfilling our aspiration,” her father said.
Lavanya T D, a first rank-holder in Kannada MA, is the daughter of Nagarathna, who rolls beedis, and Dasharatha, a daily-wager of Sriramanagara. “We never wanted our children to become like us and sent them for higher education”, says the proud mother. Manjula, a physically-challenged MSW student, received the gold medal from Governor Vajubhai Vala by coming onto the stage by wheelchair. 

“The varsity, despite restricting itself for the district, has been serving the purpose of providing higher education to rural children, and the girls have grabbed it. If the varsity sets up its own campus on 240 acres, we can introduce more programmes,” remarked VC Dr Y S Sidde Gowda.