Mangalore University temporarily discontinues 16 PG programmes over low enrolment

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Sep 30, 2026: Mangalore University has temporarily discontinued 16 postgraduate programmes for the 2026-27 academic year after they failed to attract the minimum number of students required to run the courses.

Vice-Chancellor Prof. P.L. Dharma said on the sidelines of the Academic Council meeting on Tuesday that government guidelines require a minimum of 15 students for a postgraduate programme to be conducted.

The programmes affected are Analytical Chemistry, Electronics, Cyber Security, MEd, Sociology, MCom (HRD), Bioscience, MCJ, Tulu, Konkani, Hindi, Sanskrit, Statistics, Environmental Science, Material Science and Geoinformatics. These programmes are offered at the university campus as well as affiliated colleges.

“Analytical Chemistry has not received any admissions for the past two years. There are second-year students pursuing MA Sociology, while MCJ has students only for the open elective. MSc Statistics has not received admissions for the past three years,” Prof. Dharma said.

He said MSc Environmental Science had also failed to attract sufficient students despite growing public concern over environmental issues and the availability of a well-equipped laboratory at the university. MSc Material Science, too, has not attracted students for the past three years.

“Many of these PG programmes are facing a shortage of teaching faculty and have been dependent on guest faculty. We cannot run postgraduate programmes with just two or three students, as this is not in accordance with government guidelines,” the Vice-Chancellor said.

Departments to be grouped under schools of studies

To address the shortage of senior teaching faculty and improve the functioning of postgraduate departments, the university is planning to bring related departments under different schools of studies.

Under the proposed arrangement, Bioscience, Applied Botany and Applied Zoology, Food Science and Microbiology will be brought under one school, while Marine Geology and Geography will be grouped under another.

“Setting up a school of studies essentially means bringing postgraduate departments belonging to related streams under one banner,” Prof. Dharma said.

Four colleges did not seek affiliation

Around 150 colleges in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts are affiliated with Mangalore University. These include 33 government colleges, 23 aided colleges, 70 unaided colleges, 11 education colleges, nine autonomous colleges and four constituent colleges.

Prof. Dharma said four colleges — Ambika Mahavidyalaya, Puttur; Anjuman First Grade College, Jokatte; Prerana College; and Bharathi College — had not applied for affiliation for the 2026-27 academic year.

Responding to a query about admissions to the constituent colleges at Nelyadi and Bannadka, he said no new batch of students had been admitted. “The Cabinet will take a decision on attaching these colleges to the nearest government colleges,” he said.

The Evening College at Hampankatta is currently offering only an MBA in International Business. “We are planning to shift it to the Mangalore University campus,” the Vice-Chancellor added.

Academic Council approves revised PhD regulations

The Academic Council also approved revised regulations governing the award of PhD degrees, incorporating recommendations of the Standing Committee of the Karnataka State Higher Education Council.

The meeting was chaired by Prof. P.L. Dharma. The revised regulations were prepared in accordance with the UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of PhD Degree) Regulations, 2022.

The university had constituted a committee of deans and senior professors to prepare regulations governing its PhD programmes. The draft regulations were approved by the Academic Council on October 9, 2025, and submitted to the government on November 25, 2025.

The draft was subsequently placed before the Standing Committee of the Karnataka State Higher Education Council, which directed the university to incorporate its observations and resubmit the regulations. The revised draft, incorporating the recommendations, was approved by the Academic Council.

Prof. Dharma said Mangalore University was the only university to have prepared the revised regulations and that the Karnataka State Higher Education Council had circulated them among other state-run universities.

New courses and programmes approved

The Academic Council approved the revised curriculum for the add-on course in Retail Management and Digital Marketing, along with the curriculum for the first and second semesters of the BCom (Human Resources Operations) AEDP programme.

The curriculum for the fifth and sixth semesters of the BA Rural Development core course was also approved.

New affiliation was granted to Prestige School of Management and Innovation to offer BBA in Logistics, BCA in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and BCA in Data Analytics.

The Council also approved Tulu and French as optional subjects in undergraduate programmes at Alva’s College, along with MBA in Healthcare Management and MCA programmes.

The BSc Data Science programme at Vivekananda College of Arts, Science and Commerce was also approved.

Certificate, diploma courses in event and hospitality management

The Academic Council approved certificate and diploma programmes in Event and Hospitality Management following an MoU between Mangalore University and Wedmin Academy Pvt. Ltd.

Prof. Dharma said the programmes would provide students with practical exposure and could also help the university reduce expenditure on events.

“If commerce students on the university campus undergo the certificate and diploma programmes in event and hospitality management, we can utilise their services while hosting convocations and other major programmes at the university. This will provide practical exposure to students and also help reduce the university’s expenditure,” he said.

Mangalore University Registrar Santhosh Jagalasar, Registrar (Evaluation) Dr H. Devendrappa and Finance Officer S. Panchalingaswamy were present at the meeting.