Mangaluru: Assembly speaker UT Khader has directed the higher education department to introduce an MA course in Tulu at Dr P Dayananda Pai-P Satish Pai Govt First Grade College (GFGC), Car Street, from the next academic year. The proposal needs approval from the department of collegiate education.Starting the MA in Tulu course at a govt first grade college will reduce the financial burden as expenses are borne by the higher education department. Currently, MA Tulu is offered from 2018 under Mangalore University (MU). It started at University Evening College, and this year it shifted to the Mangalagangothri campus in Konaje. It has about 10 students in the second year, and the first year of the course is closed, as there are no admissions.Besides the regular MA, MU officials also informed that discussions will be held with the vice-chancellor of the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) to explore launching the MA Tulu course through distance education mode, thereby expanding opportunities for students to pursue higher studies in the regional language and promote its preservation and growth.Raghuraj, a syndicate member, said that having an MA Tulu programme is a long-pending demand, and Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy members are striving to start it in GFGC. “After a long discussion, there is a proposal from speaker Khader to start the same in a govt first grade college in Car Street. The syndicate body of MU approved the proposal and sent it for further approval from the govt. We are expecting the course to commence from the next academic year,” he said.A source from the DCE, Mangaluru division, added that so far they have not received any communication from MU or the govt. Sources from MU, who earlier were in charge of the MA Tulu course, shared that if the same course starts at the GFGC campus, it will save around Rs 10 lakh per annum for MU, since hereafter expenses are borne by the higher education department. Secondly, the syllabus will be the same as before.
