The new Bangalore Central
University (BCU) is mulling over introducing a five-year rigorous integrated
Science course at its Central College campus.

The course will see students graduate with a general BSc
degree in Science and an MSc in a specialization. The course introduced in the
unified Bangalore University a few years ago wasn’t a huge hit. S Japhet, BCU
vice-chancellor, said the university is yet to decide whether to allow students
to leave the integrated course midway with a Bachelor’s degree.



“We consulted a few professors from the Indian Institute of
Science. Students keen on pursuing Science long term will be interested in this
course,” he said, adding that the final call will be taken by the yet-to-be
constituted Board of Studies.



BCU has also applied for 20 additional departments, which if
approved by the UGC, can start from the next academic session. Degrees in urban
studies, public policy, digital media studies and animation are among the few
courses on the anvil.



The department of skill development and entrepreneurship
which would offer a Bachelors and Masters in Vocational Studies has been
proposed. “There will be three- and two-year courses with a number of
disciplines. The idea is to focus on hard and soft skills and to enhance
employability. Degrees in vocational studies are currently offered in six
colleges in our jurisdiction,” he said.



The 20 departments, if approved, will be in addition to eight
departments currently operating from the campus.



Sixteen colleges have sought to be part of BCU for the next
academic session and local inquiry committees (LIC) will visit them this month
to check the feasibility.

The Bangalore Central University will be
inaugurated on March 7 by chief minister S Siddaramaiah. Union ministers DV
Sadananda Gowda, Ananth Kumar and Nirmala Sitharaman have been invited as chief
guests, but governor Vajubhai Vala, the chancellor, doesn’t figure among the
invitees.

 “We had about 10-15 days to plan the event. When
you invite the governor, it takes 2-3 months of planning to confirm his
availability. He has his own protocol and we were not ready for an event of
that scale. It’s due to many factors that we couldn’t invite him but he remains
the pro-chancellor,” BCU vice chancellor S Japhet said.

The Rs 25-lakh launch at the Central College
cricket stadium will be attended by 10,000 people, including staff, students
and management of 230-odd affiliate colleges.