Bengaluru: Admissions to govt PU colleges have shot up in the state, with the number crossing 1.6 lakh currently. Last year, the govt PU colleges admitted 1,37,848 students.The increase in enrolment at govt schools and colleges is part of the sustained effort by the department of school education and literacy. This year, the department fixed the enrolment target at 2.5 lakh for its PU colleges and until now, around 66% of the total target is achieved. Of the 1.6 lakh students who have joined, 99,028 are from govt high schools; 65,852 are from other boards and private schools. Admissions are still underway.While some districts like Kodagu and Mysuru achieved 97% and 93% of the target, respectively, some districts like Bidar and Chikkaballapur achieved only 13% and 27%, respectively. Till now, 5,380 students in Bengaluru North and 4,588 in South have joined I PU in govt colleges. “We are continuously following up with the districts and ensuring admissions are happening,” said PU department director Bharat S.Karnataka has one of the lowest transition rates from secondary class to higher secondary classes in south India. The rate for moving from Class 10 to Class 11 is 63%, as per unified district information system for education. The gross enrolment ratio in higher secondary is 61%.Change in recruitment rulesIn an amendment to the Karnataka General Services (Pre-University Education) (Recruitment) Rules 2013 notified on June 18, the lecturers appointed by direct recruitment and promotion will teach Classes 9 and 10 also in a school specified by the govt.“As the Karnataka school system is split into primary, higher primary, high school and PU, it is easy for children to drop out as they shift from one school to another. It is also for this reason that we have decided to change the recruitment rules so that the same teachers are there in high school and PU department. Students will have a familiarity with the teachers and will continue in the schools for Classes 11 and 12 as well,” said an official.BOX: PU colleges await booksThis is the first time that the state has offered free textbooks for govt PU colleges but they are yet to reach them. “The problem is mainly with the language classes. For the core subjects, teachers are able to give them notes and teach the concepts. But the language teachers are struggling as they really need textbooks for teaching poetry, prose and grammar,” said AH Ningegowda, president, Karnataka State PU College Lecturers’ Association.The PU department said of the 13.4 lakh books, 11.7 lakh were dispatched Thursday evening and the remaining by Friday evening. Additionally, there are around 8 lakh old books with the districts. All these will start reaching the colleges within the next 3-4 days. “There was a slight delay in the dispatching of textbooks. But students will start receiving it in the next few days,” said the PU department director.
