Karnataka’s folk varsity to branch out across globe

BENGALURU:  Karnataka Janapada Vishwavidyalaya (Karnataka Folklore University), the only university in the world which offers courses in folk arts and culture, has now set its eyes on expanding its reach globally. It is approaching colleges and organisations across the world.

The decade-old university, was an initiative of former CM B S Yediyurappa in 2011 and was inaugurated by former CM D V Sadananda Gowda in 2012. Presently, it offers certificate courses in doddata (folk drama), dollu kunitha, kamsale, thogalu bombeyata (puppet show), traditional embroidery, folk tourism, folk songs, folk dances, bamboo art, folk martial arts, folk sports, percussion instrument, and yoga. It also offers diploma courses in open air theatre, yakshagana, traditional tattoo art, martial arts and yoga. It also offers postgraduate diploma courses in folk poetry, traditional dairy and traditional horticulture.

Speaking to TNSE, Prof C T Guruprasad, Registrar and Vice Chancellor (in-charge) of the university said over 600 students have enrolled for various courses offered by them. These classes are conducted on their campus at Shiggavi in Haveri district, which happens to be CM Basavaraj Bommai’s constituency.

“Initially, when the university was started, around 50 colleges and organisations from Karnataka enrolled and were affiliated to our university. We are now reaching out to colleges and organisations beyond Karnataka and also outside India,’’ he said.

Cert to be given for taking classes

The university officials are now writing letters to Kannada organisations in Delhi, US, Australia, Dubai and other countries. “All we need are resource persons/artistes and suitable infrastructure. They can write to us and we will place it before our Local Inquiry Committee for approval. Once approved, we can sign an MoU. They can take classes, both theory and practical, and the certificates will be issued by the university. It is the first of its kind. We want to extend this across the globe,’’ he added.

University functions under the Department of Higher Education and some of the courses they offer have been included in the syllabus designed under the National Education Policy. The university has also published an exclusive dictionary of folk words and has published more than 200 books. It also offers PhD courses. However, they do not have permanent staff. “We have 70 sanctioned staff. But they have not been recruited on a regular basis even after ten years. The annual grants vary between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 70 lakh which is not sufficient,” sources from university said.