Mangalore University Shelves 16 Postgraduate Courses as Enrolment Falls Short of Minimum
Mangalore University has suspended 16 postgraduate programmes for the 2026-27 academic year after they failed to meet the minimum number of students required to conduct a course, Vice-Chancellor P.L. Dharma has said.
Postgraduate classes for the academic year began in September. Speaking to presspersons on the sidelines of the university's Academic Council meeting on Tuesday, September 29, Mr. Dharma said a programme needs at least 15 students to be run.
The programmes not being offered this year are Analytical Chemistry, Electronics, Cyber Security, MEd, Sociology, MCom (HRD), Bioscience, Journalism, Tulu, Hindi, Konkani, Sanskrit, Statistics, Environment Science, Materials Science and Geo Informatics.
Some of these have been suspended for longer. Analytical Chemistry, Statistics and Materials Science were stopped two years ago and are not being offered for the third consecutive year. Journalism has not been offered since last year, also owing to poor enrolment.
Two programmes have been restructured rather than dropped altogether. Cyber Security has been merged with the Computer Science programme from the current academic year, while Geo Informatics has been merged with Marine Geology.
The Vice-Chancellor noted that the university has one of the best laboratories for Environmental Science, yet the course drew no admissions this year.
Tulu programme could resume
Mr. Dharma said the university is prepared to restart the Tulu postgraduate programme within the current academic year itself, provided 15 students enrol. "We cannot manage a programme with just two students or less than 15 students," he said.
The minimum-enrolment rule is a common yardstick for universities, which must justify the deployment of faculty, laboratory time and other resources for every programme they run. Programmes that fall below the threshold are typically suspended until student demand recovers.
Four colleges skip affiliation
The Vice-Chancellor also said four degree colleges did not seek affiliation from the university for the current academic year. They are Ambika Maha Vidyalaya, Puttur; Anjuman First Grade College, Jokatte; Prerana College, Mangaluru; and Bharathi College, Mangaluru.
The university now has 150 affiliated colleges. Of these, 33 are government colleges, 23 are government-aided private colleges, 70 are unaided private colleges, nine are autonomous colleges, four are constituent colleges and 11 are unaided education colleges.
Of the total, 108 colleges are in Dakshina Kannada district and 42 are in Udupi district.
The suspensions cover a wide spread of disciplines, including languages (Tulu, Hindi, Konkani and Sanskrit), social sciences (Sociology), education (MEd), commerce (MCom in Human Resource Development) and several science streams. Their withdrawal affects prospective students in the region who would otherwise have pursued these subjects close to home.
The university has not announced a timeline for reviewing the suspended programmes, apart from indicating that the Tulu course may return if enough students join.
