Grey-haired alumni, well into their 70s, joined the current batch of students from the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE) to protest against the shifting of the century-old college from K.R. Circle to the Jnana Bharathi campus on Thursday. Autonomy was also on the list of demands.
Several eminent alumni, including aerospace scientist Roddam Narasimha and former Vice-Chancellor of Kuvempu University K. Chidananda Gowda, took part in the protest and the meeting that was convened later in the day to chalk out an action plan.
Pointing to the building where he studied, retired professor K.C. Krishnamurthy said: “Every day on my way to work I would look at this magnificent building and recall the time I spent here.” He is, however, quick to add that his opposition to the relocation is not driven by sentiments alone. “The laboratory and equipment are on this campus as it is not practically possible to move it.”
Former Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University N. Prabhu Dev said the shift was “unscientific” and there was a need to present a case for why the college could be made into an Indian Institute of Technology.
While current students are opposed to the move, they said there was an urgent need to improve the “crumbling” and “inadequate” infrastructure. From dirty toilets to lack of classrooms, there is nothing left to the college apart from the “heritage” tag, they said.
The State government decided relocate UVCE to the Jnana Bharathi campus after the trifurcation of Bangalore University this academic year. Explaining the move, Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayaraddi said the existing structure at K.R. Circle is old but a final decision on this matter will be taken in a fortnight.
