New legislation soon for administrative decentralization of varsities: Dr Ashwathnarayan

Manipal: Karnataka Minister for Electronics, Information Technology – Biotechnology, Science and Technology, Higher Education, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, and Livelihood Dr. C N Ashwathnarayan said that new legislation will be brought out to complement the objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP).

He was speaking to the editorial team of “Udayavani” at Udayavani headquarters in Manipal.

The minister talked at length about the improvement of universities in the state. Universities cannot develop if they are in the hands of a few. There is a need to decentralize varsities through legislation, he opined.

Monitoring, supervision, management, governance, and leadership need to be decentralized. The government will bring out legislation to this effect, he added.

Dr. Ashwathnarayan said that the state government has joined hands with the tata group for the upgradation of government ITIs. In the first phase, 150 ITIs were to be developed. However, another 30 have been added. The development of the remaining 50 ITIs will be done in the next phase, he said.

He also stressed raising grants from sources other than the government for research and study chairs at Universities. Higher educational institutions cannot run on student fees alone. Collaborators, donors as well as alumni should come forward for developing educational institutes for the betterment of society and the learning process, he opined.

Further, the minister said that the quality of education has to be continuously improved for staying relevant in the competitive world. Implementation of the National Education Policy is a step in the right direction in this regard. Universities are also making considerable improvements in terms of quality, he said.

On the issue of opening more government engineering colleges, Dr. Ashwathnarayan said that there is a problem of plenty in engineering colleges, with many seats going unfilled. As such, the government is more focused on strengthening the existing engineering colleges.

He also responded positively to the demand for a separate university for the Udupi district. The chief minister has already expressed his support for establishing a separate varsity in Udupi, he said, and added that a medical college will also come up soon on the PPP model.

Floral tributes to T Upendra Pai

Udupi: Dr. Ashwathnarayan also participated int he the 128th birth anniversary celebrations of Tonse Upendra Pai, one of the founding leaders of modern Manipal. The minister paid floral tributes to Upendra Pai’s portrait.

Recollecting his association with KMC, Dr Ashwathnarayan said “I am an alumnus of KMC Mangaluru. During my college days, I was elected the president of the college student union… It is a great pleasure to have participated in celebrating the birth anniversary of elders like Upendra Pai.”

On the occasion, Dr. Ashwathnarayan also conveyed birthday wishes to Manipal Media Network Ltd. Executive President T. Satish U Pai who shares his birthday with his father T Upendra Pai.