The coastal Karnataka region has emerged as a major education corridor in the country. Some of the educational institutions in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts were set up decades ago.
While the University College in Mangaluru (formerly Government College) has a history of more than a century in the government sector, the Kasturba Medical College (KMC) at Manipal, a premier medical education institution, has a history of nearly seven decades.
Private model
The private entrepreneurship model has made the region a force to reckon with in the education sector, be it in basic education or professional education.
The late Dr TMA Pai was the one who pioneered this model by starting KMC at Manipal in Udupi district on June 30, 1953. This was the first medical college in the private sector in Karnataka. Unlike today, Manipal was only a small village then.
In fact, medical education is one of the mainstays of coastal Karnataka and this sector has been contributing a significant talent pool to the country’s healthcare sector.
Deemed varsities
Though deemed universities are commonplace today, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) was one of the pioneers to get the deemed-to-be university status 26 years ago.
Starting with five institutions in Manipal and Mangaluru with a little over 5,500 students in 1993, MAHE now has presence in three countries with 32,000 students. It now offers over 350 courses in more than 30 disciplines in health sciences, engineering, management, communication and humanities. KMC in Mangaluru and Manipal are part of MAHE.
Two of the other deemeduniversities – Yenepoya and Nitte – are located at Deralakatte in Mangaluru taluk. Both of them were established in 2008. In 2013, Mangaluru got a private university, Srinivas University.