In order to boost up the higher education, making it available to a larger section and to bring it equivalent to the notable foreign universities, the Government of India has kicked off some vital initiatives in Engineering, Management, Science & Research, Planning & Architecture, and Information Technology.
Reviewing these schemes as Prime Minister’s initiative, the Principal Secretary to the PM said Friday that setting up of Central Universities, world class Central Universities, degree colleges are under processing. While reservation in central institutions is being implemented, implementations of scholarships and educational loans as a central sector scheme for “non-creamy” layer are being worked out.
He said that first academic sessions commencing in 2008 in six off eight new Indian Institutes of Technology is on course. These institutions are being set up in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Punjab and Gujarat. The session for IIT Orissa has already been commenced at IIT Kharagpur in July 08, and classes for IIT Punjab will be held at IIT Delhi in Sept this year. The other 4 new IITs will begin their first academic session during August 08. Each of the other two IITs will be established at Indore in Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.
The Indian Institutes of Management at Shillong has already kicked off its first session from July 08. Rest of the six new IIMs will be set up in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Haryana.
Five Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) as per the government’s proposal are on schedule. Of these, two IISERs inaugurated in 2006-07 at Pune and Kolkata are successfully functioning and a year later the IISER at Mohali began its session. Other two IISERs at Bhopal and Thiruvanthapuram will start their first academic sessions in August this year.
Two Schools of Planning & Architecture (SPAs) being set up at Bhopal and Vijayawada will kick off their first academic sessions this year through temporary campuses till it gets its own. The NIT Bhopal will mentor the SPA Bhopal and SPA, Vijayawada will be mentored by SPS, Delhi.
Considering the lack of Central Universities, the Union Government had also proposed 16 Central Universities to be set up in states having not a Central University. Of these four existing universities: Sagar University in Madhya Pradesh, Bilaspur University in Chhatisgarh, Garhwal University in Uttrakhand and Goa University will soon be upgraded as Central Universities. The remaining 12 new universities will be establish in Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab , Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Kamataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Apart from this, 373 degree colleges will be established in selected districts this year.
With the consultation of Planning Commission setting up of 14 World Class Central Universities in different states are under process.
Ten new National Institutes of Technology are to be set up in States/UTs which do not have an NIT. Discussions are being carrying out with different States’ Government to operationalise the Centre’s plan of establishing 20 Indian Institutes of Information Technology in assistance with NAASCOM.
Non-creamy layer students will be given scholarships at College and University level. The scholarship for the first two years will be Rs 1000 per month, which will be enhanced to Rs 2000 for the rest of the session. About 41,000 boys as well as same number of girls will be able to avail the benefit of this scheme.
Students belonging to non-creamy layer who want to pursue professional education in India will also be given the benefit of Central Sector scheme in terms of educational loan. The government is working on an Educational Loan Interest Subsidy Scheme.
Besides these schemes, the Principal Secretary said, OBC reservation as per the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 are being implemented in all the IITs, IIMs, and the Central Universities form the current academic session.
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