Some central universities to come up earlier than the others?
The following excerpt from a news item from the statesman is confusing. It talks about MHRD starting 6 central universities. It is not clear what is happening with the other 24 proposed central universities.
The Human Resources Development (HRD) ministry has decided to allot Rs 6,200 crore to six states including West Bengal, for setting up Central universities.
The funds would be disbursed to the respective states after the plots are identified. Funds will be provided under the eleventh five-year plan, HRD ministry officials said. …
Other than West Bengal, universities will be set up in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Uttaranchal. These states have already identified lands for the proposed institute and have accordingly informed the HRD ministry. A senior official of the ministry said the universities are supposed to come up on 700 to 1,000 acre of land, which are easily accessible.
… The proposed residential university will lay more emphasis on courses in foreign languages such as Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Spanish and Italian. Subjects like engineering, medical science, computer science, arts and management will also be taught in the university. Students from Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Tibet and Singapore are expected to seek admission to the university. The university will also offer courses in Buddhist philosophy, Chinese philosophy and Tibetan philosophy.
September 20th, 2008