It closes 458 UG programs in tier one government colleges

In addition, the intake was reduced from a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 150 seats in a total of 1380 combinations. | Photo credit: K. MURALI KUMAR

The Karnataka government has stopped 458 Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BSc) and Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) degree programs in tier-one government colleges for 2026-27 due to lack of enrolment, among others.

In addition, the intake was reduced from a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 150 seats in a total of 1380 combinations.

There are a total of 440 first level government colleges under the Collegiate Education department in the state and there is zero enrollment for a total of 1,091 combination undergraduates (UG) in these colleges for the year 2025-26. In addition, single-seat students were enrolled in a total of 190 combinations.

The largest number of colleges with zero enrollment and single digit enrollment are in tier 2, tier 3 cities and rural areas. In addition, enrollments in many government primary schools in tier 1 cities, including Bengaluru and Mysuru, have also declined.

Among the UG courses in which students have not enrolled are optional Kannada, History, Economics, Political Science and Social Science.

No students have even enrolled in Chemistry, Computer Science, Physics and Mathematics in colleges in rural areas and Tier 3 cities, while several BA combinations in subjects like Kannada, History, Economics, Politics, Sociology have no takers in many colleges.

Responding to a question raised by Member of the Legislative Council K. Vivekananda in the recent budget session, Higher Education Minister MC Sudhakar said that a review is underway to cancel courses with zero admissions from the last three years from this academic year.

Proposal

In addition, the Department of Higher Education has submitted a proposal to the government to reduce the demand for some old and traditional courses in the state’s first tier universities. “If these courses are not withdrawn or the income allocated for them is not reduced, membership fees and other charges will have to be paid to the universities and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), which has become a financial burden. And there is a possibility that the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) score will be reduced during the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) assessment.”

The ministry also demanded that the intake be reduced for courses in which enrollments have been low in the last three years.

New courses allowed

Meanwhile, admissions are underway in many government first level colleges based on prescribed income and college principals have sought permission to start new courses and improve seats in some required courses.

In order to introduce courses that are in line with industry requirements and incorporate apprenticeship into the learning process, permission has been sought to start skill-based courses in the BCom Apprentice Embedded Degree Program (AEDP) in 45 colleges through the Center for Research in Schemes and Policies (CRISP) and BOAT (Board of Apprentice Training).

The government has allowed the start of 230 new courses related to BA, BSc and Bachelor of Social Work degrees. At 186 universities, permission was granted to increase intake for existing and high-demand courses from a minimum of five places to a maximum of 100 places.

As many as 26 colleges have been given permission to start new Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Bachelor of Computer Application (BCA) courses, sanctioning intake from a minimum of 30 to a maximum of 100 seats.

In addition, the government issued an order allowing 63 colleges to start new AEDP courses with a total capacity of 60 seats.

Published – 28 May 2026 19:47 IST