Bengaluru, March 6 (NationPress) The Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, announced on Friday during the Budget presentation in the Legislative Assembly that the state will enforce the contentious Rohith Vemula Act aimed at curbing academic and social harassment of students based on caste across all government, private, and deemed universities.

The Rohith Vemula (Prevention of Exclusion or Injustice) Bill, 2025 seeks to create a more secure environment for marginalized students, positioning Karnataka as a frontrunner in legally addressing caste discrimination in educational institutions. The Act honors Rohith Vemula, a PhD candidate at the University of Hyderabad who tragically took his own life on January 17, 2016.

Additionally, he revealed plans to conduct student union elections in colleges and universities to cultivate leadership, responsibility, and democratic values among the student body.

In a bid to enhance higher education infrastructure, the government will allocate 25 acres for the establishment of a private Vachana University in Basavakalyan.

To bolster the capabilities of Government First Grade Colleges and polytechnics, the Karnataka government is embarking on the Karnataka Higher Education Transformation Project with a financial backing of Rs 2,500 crore from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). This initiative will transform 40 Government First Grade Colleges and 11 polytechnics into model institutions.

The CM further stated that nine centres of excellence will be established with ADB's support to encourage entrepreneurship and a startup culture among students.

Approval has been granted for filling 2,000 teaching positions across Government First Grade Colleges, engineering institutions, polytechnics, and the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE). The hiring process will commence shortly. Additionally, 1,000 teaching posts in public universities will be rationalized and filled in stages.

To enhance facilities for female students, basic infrastructure improvements will be made in 25 government degree colleges, three polytechnics, and three engineering colleges where the female student population exceeds 50%. An allocation of Rs 31 crore has been earmarked for this initiative, with Rs one crore designated for each institution.

Over the next three years, furniture procurement and maintenance work will be undertaken in 50 Government First Grade Colleges with a student population exceeding 1,000, with a budget of Rs 100 crore.

New Government First Grade Colleges will be established in Chadachan in the Vijayapura district, Belagavi Rural, and the Narasimharaja constituency in Mysuru city. Another college will be set up in Maski in Raichur district, backed by macro funding from the Kalyana Karnataka Regional Development Board (KKRDB).

Under the Kalyana Karnataka Area Development Board, residential First Grade Colleges will be developed in Nimbaraga in Kalaburagi district, Kakkera in Yadgir district, Ambamath in Raichur district, and Bevoor in Koppal district, each with a budget of Rs 18 crore.

In response to industry needs, 15 new courses will be introduced in 11 government polytechnics and the Government Engineering College in Chitradurga, including Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Mining Engineering, and Automation Engineering.

The Chief Minister also noted that the state government has already allocated Rs 100 crore of the proposed Rs 500 crore to develop UVCE akin to an IIT. An additional Rs 100 crore will be allocated for this initiative in the current fiscal year.

Moreover, women guest lecturers in Government First Grade Colleges, polytechnics, and engineering colleges will receive 90 days of maternity leave starting from the next academic year.