He believed private universities will be able to raise the quality of education
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy
Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Wednesday made a strong pitch for setting up private universities in the state for turning Kerala into an international hub of quality technical and higher education. At a briefing after the cabinet meeting, the chief minister said he believed private universities will be able to raise the quality of education and would do a world of good to the state if they do not misuse the freedom they get. “Almost all states now have private universities,” he said. “There are 207 private universities across the county including West Bengal and Tripura.”
Mr Chandy said he wanted the state to become an international educational hub but its possibilities are less now. “If we can provide quality education commensurate with universities in Europe and America at one tenth of their cost here, it would be highly beneficial to our next generation.” Mr Chandy said the government’s stress would be on public sector in education. “People can criticise us if we went ahead with such projects at the cost of public sector institutions,” he said.
He said Kerala should benefit from the changes taking place globally. "We will discuss this issue with all concerned before a decision on the issue is taken earlier,” Mr Chandy told reporters after receiving the report from the Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) recommending permission to start private universities for trusts, societies and companies.
The issue will be discussed with the Opposition after debating the topic in the cabinet and in the UDF. However, Education Minister PK Abdu Rabb who attended the meeting expressed his reservations on the establishment of private universities in the state. “This is my personal view and is not important because it is the state government which will take the final decision," said Mr Rabb.
The committee with MG University former vice- chancellor Dr Cyriac Thomas as chairman and KSHEC executive member Prof C I Abdu Rehman as convener pointed out that at least 30 acres of land is needed to set up a private university in rural areas and 20 acres in cities. Admission to various courses of the institution must be based on eligibility criteria prescribed for each course of study, the report suggested.
The power to fix the fee will be with managements provided that the managements shall ensure adequate concessions for weaker sections. Reservaton in force from time to time for those belonging to the SC/ST/OBC categories will be applicable for the private universities also, report said. Remuneration and other packages shall be as per UGC norms and at par with other reputed institutions, the report said.
( Source : afp/ deccan chronicle )
Next Story
