“The State Government will upgrade six public universities into universities of eminence,” Higher Education Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan said in Belagavi on Wednesday.
“They will be given modern facilities, hi-tech laboratories, well-stacked libraries and qualified teachers. Apart from producing good students and encouraging innovation, these universities of eminence will provide leadership to the State in science, humanities, economy and other fields,” the Minister said.
He was speaking at a ceremony to lay the foundation stone for Rani Channamma University’s new campus in Hire Bagewadi village.
Similarly, the government wants to upgrade the seven new engineering colleges on the lines of IITs, he said. All these institutions will get functional autonomy, he said.
The State Government is taking steps to revolutionalise higher education. “We have converted 2,500 classrooms into digital classrooms. The remaining 6,500 will be converted soon,” he said.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai laid the foundation stone for the campus and hoped that these will become centres of all-round knowledge and lead to a fundamental change in the field of education.
Technology is changing everyday. Universities will have to keep pace with such changes. They should not only adapt those changes but also give leadership in effecting changes by innovation, research and development, he said.
He also urged the professors to instil the spirit of inquiry among students, so that they develop critical thinking and emerge into public intellectuals.
The Chief Minister promised to provide the necessary funds to complete the building complex on the 126-acre campus. Hopefully, it will be completed in a year, he said.
Member of Legislative Assembly Lakshmi Hebbalkar urged the government to implement a project to provide water supply to the university and the adjoining village and set up a solid waste management system there.
