Calicut University cancels over 60 self-financing courses

The University of Calicut has canceled over 60 self-financing undergraduate courses in its colleges due to low enrollment. This decision comes after poor student interest in the past three months. Recently, the university’s Syndicate meeting decided to stop 19 courses, following a similar move on 46 courses in January and February. Courses affected include BSc programs in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics. Students who are already enrolled will be allowed to finish their studies. One self-financing college in Kozhikode district will also close. Reports indicate that self-financing colleges have struggled to attract students. In the academic year 2024-25, around 32,566 out of 92,501 seats across all colleges remained vacant. Most of these empty seats were in self-financing institutions. The Higher Education Minister had previously shared data showing that many seats in self-financing colleges were not filled in recent years. For example, only 37,377 of 56,053 seats were filled in 2019-20. Enrollment numbers have remained low in following years, prompting the university to reconsider its programs.