Six-member panel to manage Jnanajyoti auditorium

VCs and registrars of BU, BCU and BNU will be the members

The government has decided to form a six-member committee to monitor the Jnanajyoti auditorium.

Higher education minister G T Deve Gowda made the decision during a review meeting held with the vice-chancellors and registrars of the trifurcated universities — Bangalore University (BU), Bangalore Central University (BCU) and Bangalore North University (BNU) — on Friday.

The V-Cs and registrars of the three universities will be the members of the committee.

BU vice-chancellor Venugopal K R said: "The six-member committee will be formed, where the BCU V-C will be the president. All three universities will be sharing the expenditures and the maintenance of the auditorium."

He also said the committee would ensure that the rent collected on the auditorium will be spent on its maintenance and other purposes.

The three universities would own the auditorium until BU and BNU form their own auditoriums in their respective campuses.

Ownership of the Jnanajyoti auditorium and the alleged security breach by BCU officials of a storage room in the old physics block brought the simmering differences between the universities to the surface.

The university heads assured the higher education minister that they would cooperate with each other and there would not be any more public rifts.

Venugopal informed the BCU head that BU would be using some rooms of its campus this academic year.

"The BCU V-C and registrar have agreed and assured cooperation before the minister," he said.

Gowda advised the university officials to solve any emerging issues among themselves and adhere to the agreement made during the trifurcation of BU, which says BU is the parent university and will help the other two institutions.

A senior official also told DH: "The minister warned the universities not to bring property or other issues to him in future."

BCU registrar Ramchandra Gowda said the minister ordered them to look into the transfer issue immediately.

"As officials and professors are asked to choose between the universities, he asked us to send the list of syndicate members to the government. The minister said he would clear the file at the earliest,” the Registrar said.