Following are some excerpts from a report in Indian Express.
The HRD Ministry has unveiled a blueprint for world-class universities (WCUs) that proposes a free hand and more autonomy to varsities, exempting them from audit systems and placing them outside the UGC-style regulatory system, offering a range of scholarships and a flexible faculty recruitment process. The ministry has also announced its ‘Brain Gain’ policy to attract quality faculty from across the globe proposing to amend existing legislations to permit foreign citizens to be engaged as faculty in India.
The concept note for the universities, circulated to select academicians, proposes a strong focus on research at these varsities and government aid in the form of a corpus.
…The varsity will have just two pay bands for faculty and the varsity will be free to recruit as many faculty members as its suits them within these two pay bands.
… The ministry also announced its ‘Brain Gain’ policy on Monday which aimed at attracting best quality teachers from across the globe to work at the 14 National Universities, proposed to be set up by the Centre in the 11th Plan. To ensure that quality faculty of foreign nationality join these universities, the government may amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 which does not allow persons of Indian origin, who are citizens of another country, to be appointed to public services and posts.
The government also intends to amend the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Services) Act of 1971 to exempt national universities from the CAG’s scrutiny.
Following is some excerpts from a zeenews report.
These universities will be kept out of the purview of existing regulatory bodies in higher education in academic matters.
"The government shall ensure that the governance structure of the university shall be tuned to towards ensuring autonomy over all matter, specially academic matters, including but not limited to admissions, curriculum, research, assessment, award of degrees, selection of members of the professoiorate and the basic direction of the academic work in the university," the concept note said.
The autonomy will be at various levels — at the level of university via-a-vis government, at the level of faculty vis-a-vis the university and at the level of researcher via-a-vis the faculty.
These proposed universities will get Research Endowment Fund of an amount less than Rs 200 crore each annually.
Following the preparation of the concept note, the Ministry will make a draft bill on setting up the universities which will go to the cabinet for approval and then placed before Parliament.
The universities will have the freedom to get funding from non-governmental sources subject to condition that it will not be from dubious or unverified sources.
An research peer group, comprising eminent academicians, will evaluate the research proposals. The varsities will have the freedom to decide remuneration for research personnel.
As a major exemption, the transactions of these universities will be kept out of the purview of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
… Accountability will be ensured by the review of the academic research peer group for research work and teachers peer group for course work and teaching.
"To that end, scrutiny and accountability shall be defined by outcomes rather than processes," the note said.
The universities will be free to establish Chairs of Studies with funding through non-government endowments.
Similarly, the universities will have freedom to make appointments by invitation based on the recommendations of a standing search committee.
"Recognising that brilliance is not a factor of age of a person or years spent in research, the appointment by invitation shall not be subject to limitations of age or years of experience of the considered candidate," the concept note said.
August 19th, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
I was able to obtain the pages of these bills from the site http://www.nsa.org.in/Important%20documents/importantdocument_contents.htm. I have put a local copy of this at https://www.orissalinks.com/000/sri%20sri%20university/ and https://www.orissalinks.com/000/vedanta%20university/. There were some amendments made to both bills; the media mentioned that there were 20 amendments to the Vedanta University bill. We will post them when we get hold of these amendments.
August 14th, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
Often people question about why Vedanta University needs 6000 acres. I have given my perspective on this in details in the page https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/1696 . The short answer is:
- 6000 acres is not just for the university. It includes several townships.
- The townships are crucial to make Vedanta University competitive with world class universities, some of which have budgets of $3 billion per year.
- The township plan is not something hidden, but clearly mentioned in Vedanta University web pages at http://vedanta.edu.in/ .
In my previous article I made some guess regarding the area of the university. The following page from a draft of the Vedanta University masterplan gives the accurate numbers. If one looks at just university, the land use is actually very good. It uses 780+240 acres for a university planned for 100,000 students.
The developed area in the above plan is only 4300 acres. The following two pages from the 250+ page master plan draft emphasize that the remaining area of about 2000 acres is for greenery.
August 13th, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
Following is an excerpt from a report in DeshGujarat.
India’s largest university proposed by Vedanta Resources founder Anil Agarwal is coming up in Orissa, but it was originally planned for Gujarat.
… When asked about his plans to enter Gujarat, if any, Agarwal said, “Gujarat is the most developed. Its amazing how business going on here. While everybody is talking about business in energy, we thought of setting up old time Vaghas based power plant. But I haven’t figured it out. I wanted to set up a university here but then we went to Puri(Orissa). But I will be looking forward for something to start in Gujarat, that’s sure. We have something in silvassa but not in Gujarat.”
This sounds to me like a veiled warning from Mr. Agarwal to people of Orissa. I think he is preparing the ground to move to Gujarat if things get tough in Orissa. If that happens, that would be the missed opportunity of the millenium for Orissa. By saying it was planned for Orissa, he will have a ready made excuse to move to Gujarat.
On another front, Vedanta University received clearance from the environment ministry. Following is an excerpt from a PTI report on this.
A committee of the Environment Ministry has given the green signal to the Vedanta Group to set up its university in over 6,000 acres of land on the Puri-Konark Marine Drive in Orissa, notwithstanding protests from locals and activists.
August 13th, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
The web site of Srujanika is http://www.srujanika.org/.
August 10th, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
August 10th, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
Following is an excerpt from a report in Expressbuzz.com.
Innovation universities, the government’s proposal to build its own Harvard and Oxford, could also bring in transition from the existing reservation system, to one that is based on socio-economic factors. In a concept note commissioned by the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) for the upcoming 14 innovation universities, a proposal to make away with outright reservations has been mooted. Instead, the note suggests making admissions based on the socioeconomic background of the candidate.
This would mean that seats will not be reserved for candidates, rather the candidate’s admission test scores would be increased based on deprivations that he or she experiences. The concept note says that the weight would depend on factors such as the educational attainment and earning capacity of the parents and nature of the school from which the student has passed Class 10 and Class 12 (urban or rural).
…The Innovation universities, previously referred to as World-class universities or National universities, was proposed in the 11th five year plan, and would focus on multi-disciplinary research and innovation.
… Interestingly, the note recommends allowing foreign candidates to apply to the Innovation Universities along with Indians.
The note recommends holding the admission tests not only in all the state capitals and metropolitan cities, but also in selected cities across the world.
… For admissions to undergraduate courses, the note proposes to use a two-stage testing process: a standardized aptitute test followed by an essay type test. For PG courses, graduate scores and aptitude test scores would be used for determining admissions, while admission to doctorate programmes would be done based on results obtained at the PG level supplemented by references from eminent academicians.
August 9th, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
Update, Aug 28 2009: Reader Sabyasachi Kar notices that two more engineering colleges are in the latest counseling list. They are:
- Nigam Institute of engineering and Technology, Barang,Cuttack
- Adarsa College of Engineering, Angul
So now, the total number of engineering colleges goes to 94.
Thanks to keen eye of reader Parashar Das, the latest JEE seat availability list shows three new colleges as well as Purushottam Institute of Technology, Rourkela which was earlier prevented from further counselling.
The three new colleges are:
- VITS Engineering College, Tangi, Khurda (VTK) Pvt.
- Vijyanjali Institute of Technology ,Gadavanga, Balasore (VTB) Pvt
- Oxford College of Engineering and Management ,Ramachandrapur, Bhubaneswar (OCM) Pvt.
That takes the total number of colleges in Orissa JEE counselling to 88+4=92 and total number of new colleges in JEE Counseling to 25+3 = 28. (Other colleges/institutions that do not take students via Orissa JEE are: IIT Bhubaneswar, NIT Rourkela, ITER, KIIT, Department of Agricultural Engineering at OUAT and ICFAI Tech, Bhubaneswar.)
August 2nd, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
This was part of a package that the state government had announced after the Kandhamal events.
August 2nd, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.
“The decision to set up IIM-A campus in Hyderabad was taken at a meeting between the board of governors of the institute and state government officials in Ahmedabad recently. The top management institution has now set up a committee to work out further modalities,” state government sources told STOI. Dons in IIM-A confirmed the development to STOI.
The move is said to be highly symbiotic. The 110-acre IIM-A campus is virtually saturated and there is no scope of any further expansion. “The AP government has offered nearly 150 acres of land virtually free of cost or at a nominal amount of Rs one per acre as well as a grant of Rs 100 crore. The seamless campus at Hyderabad would be bigger than the Ahmedabad location and have ultra-modern facilities,” the official said.
According to sources, IIM-A can benefit immensely by having an extension in Hyderabad. “The PGDM — commonly called MBA-course is the brand-building one, but not revenue earning. The institute can generate money only through short-term executive courses and the IT, biotechnology and infrastructure hub that Hyderabad is would attract many to join up,” sources said.
According to sources, reputed faculty from abroad are keen to join the institute and would be motivated by the access that the Hyderabad international airport would provide for them. “IIM-A is the top management institution in the country and Hyderabad is the hub of the emerging economy. Both will tremendously benefit with the setting up of the seamless campus,” officials said.
The YSR Reddy government thought of the seamless IIM-A campus after the Centre made it clear that a new IIM cannot be granted for Hyderabad since it already has an IIT. “And there is no provision for an IIM for Andhra Pradesh in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2013-18) as well. A seamless IIM-A campus would be an extension of the one at Ahmedabad and not another new campus. This way, the Union HRD ministry will also have no objection as it need not give any financial assistance,” said sources.
According to the sources, the IIM-A board of governors were highly appreciative of the facilities that were being offered by the state government for the growth and expansion of the institution. “Their efforts in the last few years to grow including opening a campus in Mumbai came a cropper. Besides, former HRD minister Arjun Singh shot down all the expansion plans of the IIMs. Therefore, the offer from the AP government was welcomed with open arms by IIM-A authorities,” officials said.
Apart from the flagship PGDM course, the seamless campus in Hyderabad would offer a slew of new ones as well as optional courses that the student from Ahmedabad can enlist for a short-term, the sources said.
… The committee set up by the IIM-A authorities is expected to submit its proposals shortly to the board of governors after which the institute will seek a formal approval from the Union HRD ministry.
Orissa should pursue a similar deal with IIM Calcutta for a campus in Orissa.
August 2nd, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
With an aim to take India’s GER from 12.4 to 30 by 2020, the global average being 26, on July 24th 2009, the Human Resource Development minister of India Mr. Kapil Sibal asked each state to come up in three months their higher education vision.
I have created a site and put some initial thoughts on it at http://orissa2020.org. I plan to convince the Orissa government to incorporate as many of the items mentioned in that site as possible. It is work-in-progress but is in a decent shape now. I would like your feedback on it. Please send email to the address mentioned in the site, or you could leave comments on this posting. I hope there is a healthy debate on this issue.
August 2nd, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
Following is an excerpt from an article in TIME.
Carnegie Mellon, for instance, has for the past eight years offered a master’s program at the Chennai-based Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar School of Advanced Software Engineering. Students fork over $53,000 for the 18-month program — 15% lower than if the coursework were done in the U.S. They also spend the last six months at Carnegie Mellon’s Pittsburgh campus. The London School of Economics offers three-year undergrad degrees in economics, finance and management through the Indian School of Business and Finance (ISBF) in New Delhi, for a total tuition of $20,000, or one-fifth the standard cost. "Our students get a degree from a reputed foreign university at Indian rates, while LSE gets global reach," says ISBF director Jitin Chadha.
In Orissa, there is a beginning of a collaborative program in the recently established Asian Institute of Public Health. The foreign university involved there is the University of Maryland, Baltimore USA. That is the medical school campus of the University of Maryland. (I did my degree from the College Park campus of that University and the famous Orissa Physicist Jogesh Pati was also a faculty at the College Park campus.)
Among the above three collaboration it seems that the first two are more money-spinning type while the third (the one in Orissa) is a more collaborative partnership. The reason I say that is that in the third one joint research projects in Orissa funded by US agencies are involved. In the first two the modus operandi seems to be that the foreign university provide their name and course structure and hire locals to teach a big chunk of the course.
August 1st, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
Following is an excerpt from a report in Statesman.
Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) will set up a 500-bed medical college and hospital at Talcher in Angul district. It will also upgrade its Nehru Satabdi hospital to a super speciality hospital.
This was informed at the meeting between the state health and family welfare minister, Mr Prasanna Acharya, and MCL CMD Mr SR Upadhaya on 31 July.
… the state government recently gave its no-objection certificate, official sources said.
The medical college would be set up on a 60 acre patch of land along the same lines as Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), Lucknow.
Mr Upadhaya further informed that the state health and family secretary would be the chairman of the medical college’s governing body, while the company CMD or senior director will act as the co-chairman.
August 1st, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
Following is from a report in Pioneer.
Finally, the Vedanta University Bill has got the approval of the State Legislative Assembly on Thursday.
With this the authorities would be able to set up a multi-disciplinary varsity on a sprawling 6,000 acre land along the Puri-Konark Marine Drive Road. Chairman of the Knowledge Commission Sam Pitroda is likely to be the first VC of the Vedanta University. Besides, at least three Nobel laureates have been roped in to join as faculty, sources said.
Earlier, the Opposition as well as the Treasury bench members frowned upon some of the provisions made in the Varsity Bill. A number of amendments were brought in the existing provision. The proposed varsity would not be able to open off campus or off shore centre in relation to academic programmes of the institution.
Government chief whip Rabi Narayan Pani and Opposition Chief Whip Prasad Harichandan moved two separate amendments for the consideration of the House. Both opposed the provision allowing the varsity to open off campus centres.
“The legislation passed in the State Assembly has its purview in the territory of Orissa. Therefore, it would be illogical to allow the varsity to open off campus centres,” Harichandan said, adding that the varsity should be allowed to open regional campuses inside the State. Harichandan also cited the instance of a Supreme Court judgment striking down the Chhattishgarh Government’s act of allowing a varsity to open off campus.
“We asked the varsity authorities to open regional campuses inside the State. We have also proposed them certain locations in the KBK region, southern and northern Orissa for opening up of the campuses,” Higher Education Minister Debi Mishra said while replying to the amendments brought by the members.
As per the provision, the employees would not be treated as public servants. However, the Government would not interfere in the selection process of the employees. Merit would be given due consideration at the time of admission as its motto is to develop it as a world-class university. But no reservation facilities would be extended to either Oriya students or SC and ST students. Earlier, there was a demand to extend 10 per cent reservation facilities to the SC and ST and Oriya students. But the demand was struck down.
However, financial relaxations would be provided to SC and ST and weaker sections of the society.
Two MLAs would be taken as the members in the Management Board of the University.
If the University authorities don’t go ahead in establishing the university, the land would ultimately come back to the Government. If there is any dissolution of the university, it has to given a notice to the Government and employees and students of the university at least three year in advance.
Higher Education Minister Mishra also maintained that the university was required for the development of education in the State. He also rejected BJP legislature party leader KV Singh Deo’s apprehension that Vedanta might get benefit from the rich sand minerals. “The Centre is empowered to take a decision if any mineral is available in the land,” he said.
Here are some other reports on the topic: Economic Times, Business Standard, tathya.in.
Following are some excerpts from the Business Standard report.
The admissions to the university will be on merit basis. Though there is no reservation in admission and recruitment for the Orissa students, the university authorities will set up knowledge centres in different regions of the state for development of higher education in these areas.
Similarly, there will be concession in the fee structure for the weaker section, scheduled caste, scheduled tribe students of the state. The governing body of the university will comprise of 16 members. They will include two MLAs, one lady from SC or ST community and two nominated members of the government who includes the higher education secretary and an eminent educationist of the state.
If the university authorities choose to close down the institution, they will have to give notice for it three years in advance. In that case, the land acquired for the university from the local people, government and the Lord Jagannath temple will revert back to the original title holders. The land will be transferred to them at the price at which the land was acquired. It may be noted, the project will require 6000 acres of land.
… Meanwhile, the ICFAI University Bill, which was also tabled in the house, was referred to a select committee of the state assembly.
Following is an excerpt from tathya.in.
More than 40 lawmakers participated in the marathon discussion which covered 20 amendments.
Most important is fee relaxation for the poor, SC ST and meritorious students of the state, for which university authorities will formulate a separate policy, announced Mr.Mishra.
Secondly 2 of the lawmakers of Orissa House will find place in the Board of Governors.
Most importantly, if the University fails to come up, the land losers will receive back their land.
Land losers will also get facility to allow their children to read in the University with a liberal fee.
The amendments seem pretty reasonable.
Moreover, I really applaud the democratic process. The Bill was first presented in December 2008 and was tabled. This time it was presented on Saturday the 25th July 2009. There have been discussion on it since then and several hours on the 29th and almost the full day of July 30th was spent on debating and going over the bill clause by clause and making 20 amendments. I applaud the Orissa lawmakers to have done their job diligently. I admire the whole process. I hope the proceedings was recorded in video and would be some day made available to generation of Orissans and Vedanta University alumni.
July 31st, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
Following are some excerpts from a report in Business Standard mentioning Sam Pitroda’s name as a possibility for Chancellor of Vedanta University.
The proposed Vedanta University is likely to get chairman of the Knowledge Commission Sam Pitroda as its first Chancellor, Orissa’s Higher Education minister Debi Prasad Mishra said today.
While replying a debate on the controversial Vedanta University Bill-2009 in assembly, Mishra said the varsity authorities were in consultation with Pitroda to assume office of the Chancellor of the proposed world-class institution to be set up in Puri district.
Mishra gave this information while some members from the opposition Congress and BJP raised doubts on establishment of the Vedanta university which would be given at least 6,000 acre of valuable land.
Besides Pitroda, the varsity authorities also informed the state government, Mishra said that they had already contacted at least three nobel laureates to join as faculty of the proposed world-class university.
July 30th, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
July 28th, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
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