Kochi: The Budget has set apart Rs 235 crore for technical education this year. The Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) gets Rs 21 crore and APJ Abdul Kalam Kerala Technological University gets Rs 30 crore. Out of Rs 17.3 crore set apart for the special infrastructure development scheme for Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Kannur and Kottayam engineering colleges, Rs 10 crore will be utilized to financially help youngsters who undergo training under Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP), on the lines of the scheme for polytechnic students.
For the infrastructure development of polytechnics, a sum of Rs 50 crore will be set apart from the stimulus package, of which Rs 20 crore will be spent this year. A sum of Rs 50 crore will be set apart from stimulus package for lifting 10 IITs to world standards. A sum of Rs 7.3 crore is additionally set apart for Punarjani scheme. For medical education the budget has set apart Rs 394 crore. Of this Rs 22.5 crore is allocated for Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS) headquartered at Thrissur.
According to KUHS Vice-Chancellor Dr M K C Nair, this money will be utilized for setting up three new schools under the varsity in Ayush, Health Policy and Family Health Studies at Tripunithura, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode respectively this year and paying the salary of around 70 staff to be recruited by the Kerala Public Service Commission to the university.
