The Problem

Karnataka is in the middle of a spending spree — Rs 1 lakh crore for tunnels, metro corridors, an AI City, and now a glittering "Wisdom Valley" near the Bengaluru Airport. Yet when it came to nine public universities serving students in Koppal, Kodagu, Hassan, Haveri, Chamarajanagar, Bagalkot, Mandya, and Bengaluru's own Maharani Cluster — the government said it could not afford them.In February 2025, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's cabinet quietly decided to shut down nine of the ten newly established public universities in Karnataka, citing "lack of funds." The total cost to save all nine? Rs 342 crore per university over five years — less than 1% of what the government is spending on a single tunnel project.These were not elite institutions for the privileged. They were the first universities many rural districts had ever had. For a first-generation college student from Haveri or Kodagu, there is no IIT fallback, no private university scholarship, no parent with connections. The public university was the only door open to them. And this government has chosen to shut it.While the state dreams of a Wisdom Valley for startups and global investors, it is pulling the ladder up from under the very students whose wisdom, talent, and hard work built Karnataka's reputation in the first place. This is not a financial decision. It is a statement about whose future matters.We refuse to accept it.

What are we demanding 

We, the undersigned, call upon Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to take the following immediate actions:

1. Halt the Closures immediately suspend the shutdown of all nine public universities — Hassan, Chamarajanagar, Haveri, Kodagu, Koppal, Bagalkot, Maharani Cluster Bengaluru, Mandya, and Nrupatunga — pending a transparent public review.

2. Allocate Emergency Funding Release emergency operational funds to keep these universities functional. Rs 342 crore per university over five years is not a burden for a government spending Rs 42,500 crore on a single tunnel.

3. Fill Vacant Position immediately recruit permanent teaching and non-teaching staff across all public universities in Karnataka. A university without teachers is not a university — it is an empty promise.

4. Make Education a Budget Priority In the next state budget, guarantee a minimum allocation for public higher education that is proportional to the state's infrastructure spending. Build cities for people, not just for investors.

5. No "Wisdom Valley" Without Public Universities any new knowledge hub, innovation district, or research valley proposed by the state must include a binding commitment to strengthening — not replacing — existing public universities that serve ordinary Karnataka citizens.