Chennai: The 157-year-old universities of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta would get Rs 10 crore each as grants from University Grants Commission (UGC) for renovation and restoration of their heritage structures.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle on Saturday, UGC vice-chairman Professor H. Devaraj said that the commission had come up with a proposal to provide a one-time grant of Rs 10 crore to universities which were in existence for the past 100 years, according to which three universities of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta, which were all founded in 1857 would get the grants.
“Universities can use this grant for renovation and restoration of heritage structures and dilapidated buildings on their campus. We have also decided to give Rs 5 crore to colleges started 100 years ago. The universities and colleges need to submit their proposals to the commission as to how they plan to spend the funds,” he said.
The professor also said that the UGC has decided to approach the Supreme Court for extension of time to review 41 blacklisted deemed universities. “The commission was informed that the sub-committee had completed hearing of all the 41 C-category deemed universities. However, it was in the process of preparing its recommendations which is expected to take some more time. Hence we (UGC) have decided to ask the Supreme Court for further extension of two months time for submission of our review the report,” the professor said.
The UGC vice-chairman pointed that the national eligibility test (NET), which was conducted by the UGC to select eligible persons for faculty positions in higher education institutions across the state would henceforth be outsourced to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
