Students held a protest at Bengaluru on Tuesday protesting the government’s decision to convert RC College and Government Arts College into constituent colleges of Bengaluru City University, a demonstration was held today at Freedom Park under the banner of AIDSO. 

The proposal for merger is atleast one year old and is likely to come into being starting from the upcoming academic year.

State Treasurer of AIDSO Subhash BJ said, “If RC College and Government Arts College become constituent colleges of the BCU, the college fees will suddenly increase. As a result, it will become impossible for poor students to study even in the few government colleges available.

“We have already seen that after Maharani’s College became Maharani’s Cluster University, the fees shot up and the number of students declined. We strongly condemn this policy of the government which is aimed at turning education into a privilege of the wealthy. Moreover, once colleges become constituent units, government grants will also cease. This shows how the government is facilitating the commercialization of education,” he said. 

“Already, this year the government has announced the closure of 7 universities citing lack of funds. In such a situation, if these two educational institutions are converted into constituent colleges of the university, there will be no other option but to increase college fees. This is regrettable, as it will push poor students out of education,” said AIDSO in a statement.