Engineering courses: Karnataka model introduces skilling in curriculum, close industry links Premium

Government of Karnataka to establish Centres of Excellence in engineering, polytechnic, and humanities courses to enhance student skills and employability.

To shape higher education in line with current market needs, the government of Karnataka has decided to set up Centres of Excellence at a cost of about ₹2,500 crore in seven to eight places in the State. These government centers come on the heels of CEs being set up in various private and government colleges by companies such as Bajaj and Toyota and focusing on skill development.

The State Cabinet has approved a World Bank loan for this project, and the government has submitted a detailed project report to the bank. A World Bank team visited the state on January 17, 2025 and discussed with the officials in this regard. The centers are related to engineering, polytechnic and humanities courses like arts, science and commerce with an aim to provide effective skills to the students.

A meeting was held with experts prof. S. Shadagopan, Madan Padke, staff of Microsoft and others top most multi national companies (NMCs) headed by Dr. M. C. Sudhakar, Minister for Higher Education. And, the government has constituted an expert committee headed by the Principal Secretary of the Higher Education Department to study the feasibility of the project and submit a report.

“A World Bank team visited the state and inspected it and held detailed discussions on the project. The loan provided by the World Bank needs the approval of the Union government, which is expected to be come soon. Then, the CEs will be established in a phased manned over a period of four years. Of the total ₹2,500 crore, the State government will provide about ₹750 crore. The remaining amount will be in the form of a loan,” said Minister Sudhakar.

In Karnataka, with close to 250 colleges, 44 universities and 25,000 start-ups, every year about 45 to 50 thousand students complete their engineering degrees and enter the job market. In addition, every year, lakhs of graduates of Bachelor of Science (B.Sc), Arts, Commerce and other humanities courses graduate. How skilled and employable they are is a big question, say experts.

Engineering branches like Civil, Mechanical and others are becoming less attractive to students for these reasons. Many institutions are closing down these courses. The government’s aim is to make these courses more relevant and attractive to students by beefing up the skilling component and boosting employability.

“Skill development will be given high priority. The centers will be established to benefit polytechnic, engineering and humanities students. The curriculum will be implemented on the basis of skill development to be applicable to all students across the state. A credit system will be introduced. Instead of implementing skill development in the internship model, it will be implemented as part of the curriculum from the first semester itself as per the needs of the industries,” the minister said.