Bidar, 26 April

Bidar’s Pre-University Course (PUC) results raised serious concerns on the quality of education, with 13 out of 173 colleges recording a zero-pass rate.
Of the 18,730 students who appeared for the 2024–25 exams, only 12,608 passed, a pass percentage of 67.31 per cent, placing the district 22nd in the state.

This marks a significant decline from previous years. In 2022–23, Bidar had a 78 per cent pass rate and ranked 18th. Though the pass percentage improved to 81.69 per cent in 2023–24, the district slipped to 19th place. This year, despite being the top performer in the Kalyana Karnataka region, Bidar’s ranking and performance dropped sharply, with a 14.38 per cent decline from last year.

Of the 13 colleges with zero pass percentage, eight are unaided, four are aided, and one is a government college.

District Deputy Director of the PU Education Department Chandrakant Shahabadkar told Salar News that showcause notices have been issued to these colleges. After receiving their responses, further action will follow.

Experts and students have pointed to deeper, systemic issues. Economist Kamalakar L Hegde said the shortage of lecturers in government colleges is a major concern. “Students are not receiving the mentorship they need,” he said, calling for strict action against underperforming lecturers, including salary penalties. He also stressed the urgency of addressing faculty vacancies across government institutions.

BCom student Gurudas Amadalapada echoed this sentiment, criticising the lack of accountability among faculty. “They earn lakhs in salaries but are not invested in students’ futures. Some colleges have few students, no classes, and exist only on paper,” he said.

The overall performance across colleges paints a bleak picture. Five institutions had pass rates below 10 per cent, and 20 fell under 50 per cent. No aided college crossed the 85 per cent mark. The best among them was Janata Praveen PU College in Santapur (Aurad Taluk), with 82.86 per cent.

Among the 24 government PU colleges, one reported zero results, two had under 10 per cent, and six had below 30 per cent. None exceeded an 80 per cent pass rate, and nearly half failed to cross 50 per cent. In contrast, four unaided colleges reported 100 per cent pass rates, while no government or aided college achieved full results.

Hegde noted that 18 government colleges in Bidar recorded poor results, citing Mehkar Government PU College as an example. With only four students enrolled and both examinees failing, the quality of teaching is in question.

Mahesh, whose daughter studies at Naveen PU College, said parents would opt for government colleges if they offered better facilities such as labs, libraries, and sports infrastructure.