Bengaluru: Primary and Secondary Education Minister N. Mahesh announced that an inquiry will be ordered to clear the controversy regarding approval of new PU colleges.
The state government had in February stated that new PU colleges will not be permitted within three-kilometre radius of existing government PU colleges.
However, the Department of Pre-University Education (DPUE) went ahead and sanctioned 84 new private PU colleges when the model code of conduct (MCC) was in place during the election season.
When asked for a clarification on the issue, the Minister first responded that the higher officials had not given their final decision yet. “This has not occurred during my tenure, but during the previous government,” he said.
As mediapersons continued to point out that it was also a violation of the state government norms, apart from the breach of election code, the minister announced a probe into the matter.
The DPUE had received 246 new PU college applications from which only eleven were approved by Director Dr C. Shikha. As 235 proposals were sent back after rejection, Principal Secretary Dr Shalini Rajneesh had asked the DPUE to reconsidered 84 of them, which has given rise to a controversy.
During the press conference the officers got into a tussle among themselves regarding the PU college sanctioning with the minister helplessly watching. Dr Rajneesh then intervened and clarified that as per her position she had the powers to do so.
