A view of Bengaluru City University.
Credit: DH Photo/Pushkar V
Bengaluru: Struggling to compete with the private universities, the Bangalore University has offered installment facility for student to pay fees.
For the first time in the history of Bangalore university, the Department of Computer Science and Applications, which started undergraduate courses (BCA) from this academic year, has provided students the facility to clear their fees in two instalments.
Speaking to DH, Muralidhara B L, senior professor of Department of Computer Science and Applications, explained that it was necessary for public universities, if at all they wanted to survive.
“Looking at the number of private universities and the way they are attracting students, we had to do something to retain the students. We then decided to give them instalment facility (for fees),” he said.
Following the announcement by the university to pay fees in two installments, 120 students got enrolled for the BCA course, the first undergraduate programme introduced by the Bangalore University at Jnana Bharati campus. The fee for BCA course is Rs 76,000 and the department has asked the students to pay Rs 36,000 in first installment and the rest after one month.
Though there was a demand for this course at the university, some students were skeptical about confirming admissions following the fees and considering the offers available at private universities. “We make students understand that Rs 36,000 they pay will come back to them in the form of merit scholarship and managed to admit 120 of them for the first batch,” said Muralidhara.
Meanwhile, the senior faculties at the university opined that the state government must take measures to stop private universities from opening their units at other parts of the city.
“If the government really wants the public universities to survive, then it should stop mushrooming of private universities and also bring amendments to their respective acts and stop them from opening university units or setting up second or third campuses,” said a senior professor of Bangalore University.
The faculties even opined that the university must extend this installment scheme to all other departments to attract students.