Lawmaker highlights seat shortage, parental reluctance to send girls away
Hubballi — Prasada Abbayya, Karnataka Slum Development Board chairman and MLA for Hubballi-Dharwad East, has urged the State government to sanction an additional government polytechnic college exclusively for women in Hubballi, citing a steep rise in applications from girl students after the SSLC results.
Speaking through a starred question in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Thursday, Mr. Abbayya referred to figures supplied by Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayaraddi for the 2025-26 academic year to underline the gap between sanctioned intake and actual demand. He said the existing women’s polytechnic in Hubballi, with an intake of 300 seats, received more than 650 applications, while another polytechnic with 250 seats attracted around 750 applications.
Pointing to the city’s SSLC results for the current academic year, Mr. Abbayya noted that 9,923 students passed from Hubballi — of whom 4,813 were girls and 5,106 were boys — and warned that commercialisation of education was denying children from economically weaker families access to higher and technical education.
“With education becoming increasingly commercialised, children from economically weaker families are being deprived of higher and technical education,” Mr. Abbayya said, according to the Assembly proceedings.
Government to assess demand before decision
In response, Mr. Rayaraddi said the government would compile comprehensive data on demand for polytechnic education in Hubballi and the number of seats available, and that a decision on sanctioning a new college would follow that assessment.
The Higher Education Minister’s information, cited in the Assembly, showed Karnataka had 109 government, 43 aided and 135 private polytechnic colleges in 2025-26. Against a total sanctioned intake of 72,057 seats, only 46,136 students took admission, leaving 25,921 seats vacant — figures that the MLA used to argue that localised shortages still persist despite state-level vacancies.
Local constraints, social factors shape demand
Mr. Abbayya emphasised that, although vacant seats exist in rural and other district colleges, many parents are reluctant to send daughters to distant institutions for social and safety reasons. He urged that a new government women’s polytechnic be sanctioned specifically in the Hubballi East constituency to expand local access and strengthen Hubballi-Dharwad’s status as an educational hub.
- Admissions pressure: Women’s polytechnic — 300 seats, >650 applications.
- Another polytechnic: 250 seats, ~750 applications.
- State-level snapshot (2025-26): 72,057 sanctioned seats; 46,136 admissions; 25,921 vacant seats.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Total polytechnic colleges in Karnataka (2025-26) | 109 government, 43 aided, 135 private |
| Sanctioned intake (state) | 72,057 seats |
| Admissions (state) | 46,136 students |
| Vacant seats (state) | 25,921 seats |
The MLA’s appeal intersects broader policy questions: whether to prioritise creating new institutions in urban centres with concentrated demand, or to encourage decentralisation by strengthening rural colleges and providing incentives for students to travel. Local stakeholders have long argued that merely having available seats at the state level does not automatically translate into access for urban girls who require proximity and perceived safety.
If the government proceeds with a new women’s polytechnic in Hubballi, it could relieve immediate pressure on admissions and provide a local pathway for girls seeking diploma-level technical education after Class X. The move would also align with efforts to develop Hubballi-Dharwad as an educational and skills hub in North Karnataka, provided planning accounts for infrastructure, faculty recruitment and placement links with industry.
For now, the government’s decision hinges on the comprehensive demand assessment Mr. Rayaraddi said would be carried out. The Assembly record shows the issue has been placed on the radar of the Higher Education Department, but no timeline for the assessment or sanctioning was provided during the session.
The call for a new women’s polytechnic adds to ongoing local debates about expanding higher and technical education in Hubballi — balancing state-level capacity with targeted, constituency-level interventions to ensure equitable access for girls and those from economically weaker backgrounds.
