Students pursuing various courses in Karnatak University, Dharwad, took out a protest march here on Friday and blocked Jubilee Circle for some time seeking the release of requisite funds for the university.
Staging the protest under the aegis of Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students marched to Jubilee Circle and blocked it disrupting the vehicular movement for some time.
Subsequently, they marched to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad and staged a dharna before the office.
Addressing the students, ABVP office-bearers said that 480 of the total 864 sanctioned posts of teachers were vacant at the university. Similarly 1,070 posts of the 1,500 sanctioned posts of non-teaching staff were also vacant. As there was no permission to fill up the vacant posts, the university authorities were forced to run the show by hiring guest faculty and non-teaching staff on a temporary basis, they said.
The failure to release requisite funds had also resulted in upgradation of the educational infrastructure. Apart from the university, the constituent colleges and postgraduate centres too were affected by the funds crunch, they alleged. This government had not released scholarships for the students causing them hardship, they said, and demanded immediate release of funds.
ABVP office-bearers Pruthvi Kumar, Manikanta, Arun Amargol, Ullas Godi, Shivakumar and others submitted a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister and Higher Education Minister to the officials of the district administration.
