As KSHEC flags ‘violations', St Joseph's University defends programme expansion, calls govt report a ‘misreading of norms'

Indian Express

13 hours ago

St Joseph's University has refuted allegations made by the Karnataka State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) that it violated state norms by launching new academic programmes and admitting excess students without government approval.
The university, in its official response, termed the objections 'a misreading of UGC norms and state-issued guidelines' and said that it would consider raising the matter with the state government.
On June 24, the Karnataka Higher Education Department announced a penalty of Rs 4 lakh on the university based on KSHEC's inspection report which found that St Joseph's had introduced over 20 new undergraduate programmes and admitted more than 500 additional students during the 2023–24 and 2024–25 academic years.
The report also said that the institution failed to share 60 per cent of its seats with the state, as mandated for private universities.
In a detailed response, Prof Dr Melwin Colaco, Registrar of St Joseph's University, said the changes were made in good faith, based on the National Education Policy (NEP) guidelines issued by the state.
'It is our understanding that the council's objections are based on a wrongful reading of UGC norms and the specific directions issued from time to time,' he said.
Tracing the developments back to 2021, Prof Colaco explained that when the institution was still St Joseph's College (Autonomous), affiliated to Bangalore City University, it had restructured academic offerings in response to the NEP.
'Three major programmes were reconfigured into two major combinations, thereby increasing the number of programmes offered, though the overall student intake remained the same,' he clarified.
To expand access, particularly for students from marginalised communities, the institution introduced a third academic shift (Shift-III), incorporating courses from the erstwhile St Joseph's Evening College.
'A resolution to this effect was passed during the Academic Council meeting in 2021,' Prof Colaco said, adding that the government was kept informed. 'We had sought formal approval from the Government of Karnataka and Bangalore City University, but there was no response. As per the circular dated August 26, 2021, autonomous colleges were permitted to introduce new programmes as long as the government was duly informed.'
In July 2022, when the institution became a university, it continued offering the modified programmes, assuming continuity under NEP reforms.
Approvals were sought for additional PG and PhD programmes from the KSHEC, which were later approved by an expert committee in 2023.
However, during a 2025 inspection, a KSHEC member raised objections to the expanded course list and Shift-III, calling it inconsistent with UGC rules.
'We explained that the shift system was introduced to optimise underutilised infrastructure. These concerns were nevertheless recorded as violations,' Prof Colaco said.