Haveri district gets university in silver jubilee year

Haveri: It has been more than a quarter of a century since Haveri was carved out as a district, but it had to wait all this while to get a varsity.
In the intervening years, the students of Haveri, by and large, had to head to Karnatak University in Dharwad to pursue postgraduate and research programmes.
However, with the Karnataka government approving the establishment of seven new universities, including the one in Haveri, the future of education in the North Karnataka district looks bright.
The new university will have, under its umbrella, 40 constituent colleges, including 23 state-run institutions spread across Haveri district.
The cabinet gave its nod for the setting up of seven new universities in as many districts – Haveri, Chamarajanagar, Bidar, Kodagu, Koppal, Hassan and Bagalkot.
Meanwhile, it has also been decided to extend the ambit of the Mandya University.
These varsities are being set up at the behest of the University Grants Commission (UGC). Sources said that the UGC offers a one-time grant for the setting up of varsities.
An official of the department of higher education said that setting up universities in each district would help improve the quality of higher education. “These universities will function differently than existing traditional varsities. They will conduct examinations transparently. They will also help cultivate an environment conducive for research,” he said.
Minister for higher education CN Ashwath Narayan said the government was focused on ensuring quality higher education, in accordance with the recommendations outlined in the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020. “These universities will also help address regional imbalance,” the minister said.
The Haveri University is likely to be run out of the existing post-graduate centre at Kerimattihalli on the outskirts of the town. The centre is spread across 42 acres and has 570 students. The proposed university may need to expanded across 100 acres. Students’ Federation of India Haveri district coordinator Basavaraj Bhovi said the government could acquire land near the centre, given its ideal location.