Plans afoot to set up world class varsity in State

The government is planning to establish a world-class university in the State in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), Higher Education Minister R V Deshpande said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters after a review meeting with the department officials, he said the pros and cons of where it should be located and how it should be set up are still being discussed. “It is still in conceptual stage. We are holding discussions with the MHRD officials in this regard,” he added.

Official sources said the plan is to have infrastructure of international standards in the university, and it will be the first of its kind in the country. The university will be controlled by a separate central legislation. Though the State government is yet to put up a proposal before the MHRD in this regard, the discussions at official level are on, sources added.

Deshpande said he will pursue proposals with the MHRD to set up an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Raichur district, a campus of Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Dharwad district and to upgrade Mysore University to an innovative institution.

The State government has already acquired about 50 acres of land for setting up the proposed IIIT in Dharwad, while the proposal on the Mysore University is pending before the President of India, he added.

The government is also contemplating opening  a teachers' training academy. On lack of infrastructure in the government-run colleges, he said currently, about 6,301 teaching and 13,366 non-teaching posts are vacant in the government-run colleges, including 2,435 degree colleges.

He said he has directed the officials to scrap all redundant courses and sanction new courses based on demand and the availability of infrastructure. Besides, the officials have been asked to explore the feasibility of Visvesvaraya Technical University (VTU) launching a course on tourism.  

Search committee

Deshpande said the government will soon set up a search committee for the appointment of new vice chancellors to Tumkur University and VTU. The appointment will be made after consulting the Governor, he added.