UGC To Give 500,000 Faculty Free Ride On Info Highway

New Delhi, Oct 31 (UNI) Some 500,000 college and university teachers across India will be given free ''residential high speed internet connectivity'' to put them on information highway, the University Grants Commission announced this evening.

UGC Chairman Sukhadeo Thorat and Vice Chairman Moolchand Sharma told journalists the move was hoped to enhance scope for collaborative research ''leading to more publications.'' The beneficiaries will also be helped with bank credit and interest to buy personal computers for use at home, they said.

They said the decision was taken by the Commission last week and an expert group appointed to finalise details.

Asked about checking any plagiarism, Prof Thorat appeared to discount the possibility of such occurrences.

Asked about college teachers not taking classes regularly, the UGC officials pointed to the decentralised system in existence, but said ''we take action'' when a matter is brought to attention.

The Commission officials said complimentary trial access to 5,500 priced and 3,500 free electronic journals has already been provided through its Information and Library Network under another scheme.

The journals can be accessed through a portal launched by President A P J Abdul Kalam yesterday, at www.sakshat.ac.in.

The Commission has also decided to : -- Provide a Re 15,000 monthly additional honorarium to scientists who are either recipients of S S Bhatnagar Award or members of at least two science academies.

-- Provide five Junior Research Fellowships each for select Science Departments of State Universities with Potential for Excellence and Departments covered under Centre of Advanced Study and the Special Assistance Programme.

-- Approve 650 Junior Research Fellowships for these departments which will be sanctioned soon.

-- Sponsor three events at New Delhi and one in France.

These include a National Conference on Higher Education as a part of D S Kothari Centenrary celebrations, seminars on Higher Education for Growth and Equity: India-China Experience, on Higher Education in Europe and on India and Emerging Challenges of Social Exclusion at Paris under Indo-French Exchange Programme.

UNI MJ RP ND1858