Badal seeks Central University for Punjab

Chandigarh, Dec 26 (UNI) Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today sought a special package from the Centre to boost prospects of higher education in the state by setting up a Central University, an Indian Institute of Management, Indian Institute of Technology and an Indian Institute of Information Technology.

Mr Badal put forth these proposals during a meeting with the Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh in New Delhi this morning.

Stating this here today, Media Advisor to Chief Minister Harcharan Bains said that on the request of the Chief Minister Mr Singh agreed to send a high-level team to visit the probable sites at Bathinda, Rupnagar and Sultanpur Lodhi before taking a final decision for setting up of a Central University.

Mr Bains added that the Chief Minster also impressed upon Mr Arjun Singh for setting up of at least three model schools in each educationally backward block of the State instead of one as agreed to earlier by the Ministry of Human Resources Development.

The Chief Minister demanded to increase the Central share in the capital investment from the present 33 per cent to at least 50 per cent in the colleges to be set up in the educationally backward districts under the special scheme of Ministry of Human Resources Development.

UNI