PhD aspirants miffed with BU

BANGALORE: Dissatisfied with the procedure followed during the third day of the counselling session, Bangalore University’s PhD students and research guides staged a protest on Wednesday on Central College premises. While the candidates complained of lack of seats, research guides from affiliated colleges were miffed that they were allowed to guide only a few candidates. Counselling was held for Commerce subjects. Candidates had taken an entrance test and a merit list was prepared on the basis of the result, where 50 pc of the seats were reserved for these candidates. According to officials, there were 60 candidates for 15 seats. Protesting in front of the Vice-Chancellor Dr N Prabhu Dev’s office, candidates alleged that the procedure was fixed.  A candidate who wanted to opt for Human Resource and Marketing, complained that she was first told that none of the guides was interested in these subjects. Later, when she approached the guides, they claimed that their quota of candidates was full. On the other hand, research guides from affiliated colleges argued that they were allowed to guide only one candidate, whereas guides from BU were allowed to take six.  M Ramachandra Gowda, dean of the Department of Commerce and Management, said, “We are only the implementing authority and cannot take decisions on our own. There will be no re-counselling.”