The Hindu, Jan 3, 2010
The Union government is planning to set up 14 Innovation Universities, Union Minister for Human Resources Development and Communications, Kapil Sibal, said on Monday.
The unique institutions would set benchmarks in academics and research which would be comparable to the best in the world in the context of problems of hunger, water, poverty and diseases through cutting edge science and technology, Mr. Sibal said, participating in the inauguration of the 98th Indian Science Congress at the SRM University in Kattankalathur, about 40 km from here.
At the same time, there would be emphasis on arts and social sciences. The Innovation Universities would be innovative in their governance, in their financial structure, in their academic and research structure, in their content and in every other way.
Announcing another programme of the government, the Union Minister said the government was working on the concept of having Navratna Universities or an Indian Ivy League to meet the challenge of making higher education developmental, individually-centred, environmentally sound, and all-inclusive. “We intend to nurture these select universities, like the public sector Navratnas, by generous financial support, freedom in accessing external funding and total autonomy so as to free them from the shackles of government control.”
The government was also considering ways to set up an Education Finance Corporation that would refinance educational loans to students, especially from lower income families seeking to pursue professional courses, at much more favourable terms than available presently and also provide not-for-profit educational institutions access to low cost funds.
Conscious of the need for improving the quality of teaching-learning processes in institutions of higher learning, the Union Ministries of Human Resource Development and Science & Technology were involved in implementing the scheme of ‘Building Educators for Science Teaching (BEST)’ in mission mode.
Mr. Sibal said the government was contemplating introducing a Code of Conduct initially to be adopted by the Central Universities and later perhaps by State Universities and others for processes and practices to be adopted for facilitating flexibility and autonomy in the university system. The Code aimed at bringing about efficiency, transparency, and autonomy with accountability through self regulation.
Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin referred to the shortage of shortage of faculty, infrastructure facilities, and financial support to undertake scientific research at the college and university levels.
Calling for substantially increasing the allotment of resources for research and development, he suggested that incentives be provided to the private sector for investing more on R&D.
He wanted a closer collaboration between the society and industry on the one hand, and research organisations, colleges and Universities, on the other. “It is only when they work in unison, socially and economically relevant technologies can be developed,” he said.
Among those who spoke were K. C. Pandey, general president of the 98th Indian Science Congress and T.R. Pachamuthu, SRM University.
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