Bengaluru: As student enrolment and college courses continue to increase, many educational institutions are struggling to accommodate them. With limited space on existing premises within the heart of the city, a number of colleges are now adding campuses to meet the rising demand.For instance, Mount Carmel College is accommodating 10,500 students on its 9.3-acre campus in Vasanthnagar. The college has tried everything possible to handle the load, including a shift system. “The institution is growing. The number of programmes we offer has increased drastically. Many more departments are recognised as research centres. There is a need for expansion. We cannot go too vertically up because some of the buildings are heritage blocks and some others are unviable for growth. We have our PU college and school as well, and we desperately need more space,” said principal George Lekha.
The college has also applied for deemed-to-be university status and is awaiting approval. Its new campus is coming up at Gowribidanur. “The campus has to be self-sufficient with all facilities, including hostels and staff quarters. It is a four or five-year plan. We already have outreach activities, NSS camps, and health camps for neighbouring villages happening on this campus,” she said.Kristu Jayanti deemed-to-be university will use its new campus near Kannuru to build an exclusive institute of management. “We are moving the entire management programme to another place, to develop it like any other top B-school in India. The campus is expected to host 5,000 students and will be operational from next year,” said vice-chancellor Fr Augustine George. Currently, the university has 16,000 students on its existing campus in Kothanur. “The university is growing. It is the right time to give special care to the management students with state-of-the-art sports, other recreation facilities, innovation labs, and hostels, among others,” he added.Yet another university plans to expand to another campus on Bannerghatta Road and is awaiting govt approval for the same. The university, in the heart of the city, currently has over 10,000 students. The new campus, with around 22 acres earmarked for it, is expected to take some load off the existing campus and help the university grow.RV University, meanwhile, is planning to build an off-campus site in Nanjangud, near Mysuru, and is awaiting approval from the University Grants Commission (UGC). “Once it is approved, we will start schools of engineering, management, psychology and behavioural sciences, and pure and applied sciences. Education is something best done at the site of action, and outreach happens when you move out of your home zone. So, having an off-campus site enables both outreach and impact,” said RVU vice-chancellor Ram Kumar Kakani. The university currently has 6,500 students on the existing campus.
