Bengaluru, Feb 22 :  Amid growing opposition to the state government’s proposal to merge nine universities with their parent institutions, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) organized a panel discussion featuring former education ministers and vice-chancellors.

Former higher education minister Aravind Limbavali suggested that the government utilize Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds to support these universities. “If the government is calling for CSR funds to run primary schools, why not do the same for higher education institutions? Shutting down universities is a politically motivated move aimed at managing freebies,” he said.

The panel cited institutions like the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), which benefit from philanthropic funding to sustain their operations. Former minister CN Ashwath Narayan, under whose tenure seven of the nine universities were established, proposed allocating a one-time seed fund of ₹50-100 crore. He argued that these universities could sustain themselves through internal resources while staff could be reassigned from the parent institutions.

CT Ravi, another former higher education minister, called for a socio-economic audit of the universities. Meanwhile, ABVP representatives launched the ‘Bhavati Bikshandehi’ campaign to raise funds, responding to the government’s claim that the universities are a financial burden. “So far, we have collected ₹18,000 through this campaign and transferred it to the Chief Minister’s account,” said Prithvi Kumar, ABVP’s state secretary for the north.