Govt nod for 12 central varsities

Ahead of elections in five states and the next Lok Sabha elections, the UPA government today gave its approval to set up 12 new central universities in as many states and a scheme for quality education in Madrassas.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, gave its nod for setting up these new universities while upgrading four existing state universities, Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said.

Among the states where the 12 new central universities would be set up include Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Karnataka. Apart from these institutes, Sagar University in Madhya Pradesh, Bilaspur University in Chhattisgarh, Garhwal University in Uttarakhand and Goa University would be upgraded as central universities. Significantly, most of the selected states are currently ruled by non-Congress parties and all the election-bound states have been allotted an institute.

Dasmunsi said a Bill would be introduced for this purpose in the forthcoming session of Parliament.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs also gave its approval for the Rs 325-crore scheme to provide quality education in Madrassas. The government wants to introduce science, mathematics, social studies, language and English in their curriculum for classes 1 to 12 apart from the religious teachings.