“The immediate concern was asking for Rs 3.7 crore for the payment to outsourced and temporary employees. We have to pay nearly one year and three months’ salary (15 months) for outsourced employees. Seven months’ salary was pending for temporary employees,” the faculty member told ThePrint.

Established in 1991, the state-run university was meant to promote and nurture Kannada, undertake research and other studies to help the growth of the language and aid social justice by providing opportunities to marginalised groups.

Dr D.V. Paramashivamurthy, the Vice-Chancellor of Kannada University, told ThePrint the university received around Rs 5 crore annually for its development funds until about a decade ago. But since then, there has been a steady decline.

Data shows the university received Rs 5.20 crore in 2013-14. However, funding declined significantly to Rs 50 lakh annually for two consecutive years between 2020 and 2022.

After this, the institution received Rs 4.64 crore in 2022-23 but then the amount fell to Rs 1.51 crore afterwards, leading to a shortage of funds. The development grant for 2024-25 is Rs 1.91 crore, Paramashivamurthy said.

The vice-chancellor said the university needs Rs 5 crore a year to sustain infrastructure, hostels, 22 research departments and 32 buildings on the 700-acre campus.

It raises about Rs 40 lakh from students who pay just Rs 11,500 a year because of heavy government subsidies. But that isn’t enough to meet the university’s growing needs. Kannada University doesn’t have any affiliated colleges that can bring in revenue.

“I have worked in this university for 14 years and the degradation of affairs saddens me. The government’s priorities are different. We are making repeated requests and the government has to open its eyes,” the vice-chancellor said.

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‘Files are stuck’ 

A growing community of digital guardians of Kannada has been making online efforts to promote Kannada and oppose the imposition of Hindi amid a clamour for equal status for Kannada and Hindi.

Siddaramaiah, too, has lent his voice to these efforts, demanding jobs for locals and even implementing the 60 percent signage rule for all shops and commercial establishments.

The chief minister rarely passes an opportunity to use Kannada as a political platform, often to attack the imposition of Hindi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

But academics say these efforts are not enough and do not focus on pushing the state’s only Kannada research-focused university.

Repeated requests for funds from one of India’s few research-focused universities continue to be tossed between departments with no imminent resolution in sight.

Kannada University’s senior management has written at least 10 letters since March last year, pleading with the government for funds. This includes at least two letters written after Siddaramaiah’s intervention in August.

“The CM has asked for some action to be taken on it. Then the file went to the finance department who sent it to higher education. It was sent back to the finance department and the file has been stuck there,” Paramashivamurthy told ThePrint.

According to the university, its financial troubles began around four years ago with the pandemic. Since then, the management’s sole focus has been on clearing its piling dues, which includes salaries and bills.

The university requires Rs 40 lakh a month for permanent staff salaries and pension, which it has managed as the government pays salaries of permanent employees.

But it owes Rs 1.80 crore to outsourced employees, Rs 1.10 crore to temporary staff and Rs 70 lakh for five months’ pay to guest faculty.

Then university has 95 non-permamanent staff. Of these 13 are teachers.

With over Rs 56,000 crore set aside to fund its five guarantees, the state government has been cutting costs where it can, adding to the crisis at Kannada University.

ThePrint reached Higher Education Minister M.C. Sudhakar and the department’s principal secretary, M.S. Srikar, via calls. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.

Meanwhile, Basavaraj Rayareddi, the chief minister’s financial adviser told ThePrint that “there are no problems for funds in the state”.

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Research projects also hit

The lack of funds over the past four years has even starved the university’s research wings whose main job is field research.

The state government uses and also commissions studies and research to Kannada University but it has slashed budgets for such research, academics say.

“When the government announces a plan for empowerment of extremely backward and vulnerable sections, they use studies and research. This includes the abolition of devadasis, and plans for the Hakki Pikki tribe and Budbudki tribe. That’s the strength of our university,” the vice-chancellor said.

The university also plays an important role in social justice as it has awarded educational opportunities and doctorates to first-time graduates from several vulnerable sections.

Students from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes get funds from the social welfare department.

Even the faculty numbers have almost halved due to retirements and no new recruitments. Currently, there are only 47 teaching faculty out of the 73 sanctioned posts.

But with rising costs and budgets down, the university has been forced to think of other ways of cutting its expenses.

With the cost of managing four hostels climbing, the university has even considered giving at least one back to the social welfare department.

According to the university, the maintenance of these hostels requires Rs 24-25 lakh annually but the grant never matches this number, adding to the piling debts.

The government released Rs 1.15 crore last year, saying that the money can only be used to pay its accumulated electricity bill.

Similarly, the local municipality issued a notice for not paying Rs 58 lakh in municipality tax for 15 years. This was then brought down to Rs 16 lakh.

‘No provision for generating revenue’ 

The university has no source of income apart from government grants.

In the past 30 years of its existence, the university has published 1,600 books and has an annual earning of around Rs 5-6 lakh on average from its publications.

“Getting a book published by our university is a matter of great pride and prestige,” Paramashivamurthy said.

The management has explored options to raise revenues on its own but the Kannada University Act, 1991, under which it was established does not allow any such move.

The university had proposed using its dormitories to house school children who visit Hampi at reasonable prices to generate revenue, but the Kalyana Karnataka Regional Development Board struck down the proposal.

One option is to bring in private investors.

But with 700 acres and 32 buildings, the management is wary of land usurpers coming under the guise of investors.

“We can do different courses like hotel management, tourism-related. But we were created to promote Kannada and culture… and the government says that there is no provision (for adding topics that are not Kannada language focused),” the V-C said.

The university has requested an amendment to the act under which it was established to enable it to generate its own revenue.

But for now, it has no option but to wait for the government to clear its file.

(Edited by Sugita Katyal)

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