The State government’s policy of having one university per district will hurt some of the well-established universities such as Andhra University in Visakhapatnam. The AU was earlier catering to its affiliated colleges in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and East and West Godavari districts.
But with the setting up of Ambedkar University in Srikakkulam and Adikavi Nannaya University in Rajamahendravaram, all colleges earlier linked to AU were shifted to the respective universities in the districts. Now with the setting up of Gurajada Apparao University in Vizianagaram, AU loses its hold in Vizianagaram too.
It is not only a financial loss in the shape of affiliation fees that AU tends to lose, but in Vizianagaram, the 100-odd acres belonging to AU has been given to the newly-formed university.
However, accepting that there would be some financial dent, Vice-Chancellor G. Nageswara Rao said there will not be any effect on the university’s popularity. “Yes we will be losing some affiliation fees, but students who intend to join the AU, because of its high ranking, will continue to do so,” he said.
