Bangalore University Cancels approval of 70 B.Ed colleges

Bangalore University has decided to cancel the approval of 70 B.Ed colleges for the academic year 2013-14.

Academic Council here Thursday. Of the 95 B.Ed. colleges, only 25 can now apply for renewal of affiliation from the coming academic year. However, a final decision will be taken on Friday by the Syndicate.

While the affiliation for 25 colleges has been renewed this year, affiliation for non-functional B.Ed colleges has been withdrawn with retrospective effect from 2011-12.

Colleges such as KLE Society's College of Education, Acharya College of Education, M S Ramaiah College of Education will lose affiliation next year while Jnana Vikas College of Education, Rajiv Gandhi College of Education and others have lost affiliation from 2011-12.

The five-hour special meeting was convened to discuss the reports of three expert committees on B.Ed colleges as categorised in the BU Task Force report as colleges with irregularities, colleges with gross irregularities and non-functional colleges.

Vice-Chancellor B Thimme Gowda said "The council resolved not to accept the reports of An S Seetharam, consultant, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and Nagappa P Shahpur, professor, Karnatak University, Dharwad, for recommendations being inconsistent with their findings."

B. Thimme Gowda also announced at the end of the meeting that the Task Force's final report on M.Ed. Colleges have been accepted. The report recommends disaffiliation to six of the seven colleges.

The Task Force headed by Karan Kumar academic council member had assessed of over 95 B.Éd colleges and submitted its report in November 2012. However, owing to a difference of opinion among Academic Council and Syndicate members over the suggestions made in the report, BU had formed three expert committees to validate the findings of the Task Force.

This validated the recommendation of the Task Force on ‘irregularities' under category III of its report.