One of the oldest colleges in Karnataka, St Joseph’s College (Autonomous) is now upgraded to St Joseph’s University, announced the management of the university. The government of Karnataka formally conferred the status on July 2 this year after passing the St Joseph’s University Bill in February 2021.
The process ended last week with the order formally declaring St Joseph’s College a university.
Established in 1882, the St Joseph’s College is one of the oldest colleges in Karnataka managed by the Karnataka Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Some of the notable alumni from the college include scientist Raja Ramanna, scientist and activist Amulya Reddy, former chief election commissioner T S Krishnamurthy, political leaders M Y Ghorpade, Kumar Bangarappa, Rajeev Gowda, historian Janaki Nair and others.
The decision to confer the university status began in 2013 when the Ministry of Education launched the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA). RUSA’s purpose was to create new institutions by upgrading existing autonomous colleges.
Speaking to the media Fr Dr Victor Lobo, the principal of the college, said, “St Joseph’s University will be a unique university in the country and will function in the PPP (Public Private Partnership) model. The university will be in the forefront to achieve the objective of RUSA that aims to make high quality education accessible to the masses. The university will also be a leader in promoting scientific research/temper, quality education and improving equity in higher education by providing adequate opportunities to socially and educationally backward classes.”
According to the management officials, the college scored the highest NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) score (3.79/4) in the last academic year among the other autonomous colleges in the country.