University Evening College to discontinue 1st yr UG courses

Mangaluru: The University Evening College, Hampankatta, has been compelled to discontinue its first-year undergraduate courses due to a new requirement from the university. The mandate stipulates that each UG course must have at least 20 students enrolled to continue. Due to low enrolment numbers, the evening college will not offer BA, B.Com, or BCA courses for the current academic year.However, officials have indicated that these courses may resume next year if enrolment numbers improve.
The evening college at University College, Hampankatta, was established in 2015 with the vision of “providing quality education for the deprived sections of society in the evening.”
Principal Laxmidevi L told TOI that all three UG courses at the evening college have received fewer than 20 admissions. “As per the syndicate’s decision, any UG course at a constituent college of Mangalore University will be discontinued if it fails to secure at least 20 admissions. Consequently, the evening college will not offer these courses starting this academic year. However, the courses may resume next year if the enrolment improves,” she said.
Further, she said this academic year, the B.Com and BCA courses received only five and three admissions, respectively, while the BA course saw 11 admissions. “We have advised students to enrol in the day programme at University College or in the evening colleges at Carstreet or Besant Evening College. All BCA students have been transferred to the Govt First Grade College in Carstreet,” she said, noting that second and third-year students will continue their courses at the Hampankatta campus, even though all UG evening courses in the second and third years also have fewer than 20 students.
No recognition from dept
Sources said the University Evening College has not yet received recognition from the higher education department, which has been cited as a key reason for the discontinuation of the courses.
The lack of recognition means that Mangalore University must fund these courses, including paying guest lecturers' salaries, from its own internal resources. This has become increasingly difficult due to the university's current financial challenges. Despite these issues, the University Evening College remains one of the best-equipped campuses among the unrecognised constituent colleges of MU, boasting adequate infrastructure and convenient connectivity.