The State government’s ambitious Bengaluru Dr. B.R. Ambedkar School of Economics (BASE), set up on the lines of London School of Economics, will soon lose its autonomy and be developed as a university.
BASE was established in 2017 by the Congress government as an autonomous institution. To get funds and recognition from the University Grants Commission (UGC), the State government decided to upgrade the autonomous institution as university, sources in the government told The Hindu.
An expert committee comprising V.B. Coutinho, former Vice-Chancellor of Gulbarga University, and B.S. Sonde, former Vice-Chancellor, Goa University, has drafted the Bill to develop the institution as university.
Minster for Higher Education Basavaraj Rayaraddi is expected to table the Bill in the ongoing session of the State legislature.
The academic year of BASE was commenced in 2017 August and the first batch of 50 students was selected through CET in Pune, Delhi, Kolkatta, and Chennai centres. Buildings for BASE are yet to be ready and the classes for the first batch were being conducted in two rooms on the Jnana Bharathi campus of Bangalore University.
The government has planned to increase the student strength to 1,100 after BASE becomes completely operational.
