Center mulling possible changes in world-class/innovation/national university sites?
April 29th, 2010
Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.
The Prime Minister’s Office is having second thoughts on letting 14 world class innovation universities come up in places selected during Arjun Singh’s tenure.
Sources said the system of first selecting the sites and then building the universities will not work in case of these institutions since the concept is different than a usual university. Besides, there has been a major change in the concept of innovation universities from the time of Singh. The HRD ministry in its latest concept note has suggested that apart from the government even private educational be allowed to set up these universities.
On the places selected during Arjun Singh’s tenure, an official said, “Innovation universities should come up in places that can attract students and world class faculty. Some of the sites selected earlier will not be able to live up to the expectations from a world class university.”
But the twist in the tale is that many of the states have already finalized the sites for these institutions and will definitely protest in case the Centre changes its stand now. In many cases, states have shortlisted sites away from what HRD had finalised. This could become a problem.
… Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have selected sites in Sabarkantha and Sehore, respectively. But since these two places were not shortlisted by the HRD ministry, Gujarat has been asked to finalise a site near Ahmedabad or Gandhinagar and MP in an area near Bhopal.
I think, one may get a wrong interpretation of the above report until they read the last paragraph. Also, Sehore is near Bhopal; it is only 38 kms from Bhopal. So something is missing; perhaps the reporter or his source did not do a proper fact-checking.
However, if the center indeed plans to change some of the sites that it had announced earlier, then the sites that may be in most danger may be the sites that are not near state capitals. But that itself will be very difficult after the series of announcements in the parliament and other venues.
- March 28 2008: http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=36955
- April 21, 2008: http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=37684
- Dec 16, 2008: http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=45702
- Feb 12, 2009: http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=47448
- July 21, 2009: http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=50715
See http://www.orissa2020.org/appendix/location-of-proposed-national-universities for the comparison of the sites that were initially picked. Finally, the center would not dare to take away one of these universities from one state and give it to another state.
Entry Filed under: Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri- Khurda area (1),Universities of Innovation,University of Innovation Bhubaneswar
2 Writeup
1. Abhisek | April 29th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Arjun Singh indeed made a mess with selecting locations for IITs and IIMs and brought irrational parameters to deny some perenially neglected regions of some national level institutions. A rethink is invitable for creating the Innovation Universities and now instead of the University coming up near the airport an airport should come up near the University whereever it is established. National and State capitals need not necessarily be the best places as these big cities of India are hardly big and beautiful enough to allure international students who may prefer Goa, Dharmasala or Mussorie to Gauhati, Patna or Kolkata.
2. Purushotham C. | June 23rd, 2010 at 5:09 am
Hi Admin/all
Can someone please tell me what is the status of implementing the 14 innovation universities before 2012.
Its already 2010 halfway, when work start on this universities?
Thanks