The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Madurai News : Distinguish between rural, urban colleges: VC

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 10, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Distinguish between rural, urban colleges: VC

By Our Staff Reporter

MADURAI, OCT.9. The Vice-Chancellor of the Madurai Kamaraj University, P. K. Ponnuswamy, on Friday called upon the University Grants Commission to prepare a set of guidelines that would clearly distinguish between urban and rural colleges while awarding special grants and funds.

He said the UGC might evaluate rural colleges on different parameters and that he had already recommended such a proposal to the apex body.

Prof. Ponnuswamy, in his introductory remarks at the Academic Council meeting, said the distinction between the rural and urban colleges was necessary owing to difficult conditions in which the rural colleges functioned.

"They need not be subjected to compete with well established urban colleges," the Vice-Chancellor said while making his request to the UGC about the rural colleges.

Presenting an overview of various steps initiated at the university, he said the reforms were taken in three areas — academic, administrative and structural.

All 72 departments were clustered into 18 schools, a move that was commended by the UGC, Prof. Ponnuswamy said, adding that 44 courses were brought under the Choice-Based Credit System and a mid-term review of the CBCS was carried out.

He pointed out that the School of Biotechnology and School of Biology were elevated to the status of a `Centre of Excellence' with a combined grant of Rs.5 crores.

Referring to the technology initiatives, the Vice-Chancellor said that through e-initiatives the admission process was fully automated and an Online Management and Monitoring System was established under which all 44 information centres outside the State were networked.

Talking about the distance education revamp, Prof. Ponnuswamy said now all DDE centres were preparing to become e-potential for effectively utilising the EDUSAT that was put into orbit recently.

On the efforts taken at the university, he said an autonomous University-Industry R and D Cell had been established to promote a collaboration between university and industry.

He referred to the examination reforms, new courses, research projects under way and the achievements of the Bioinformatics Centre of Excellence that had been upgraded and given a financial grant of Rs.2.93 crores by the Department of Science and Technology.

The Vice-Chancellor said the establishment of a grievance redress cell for distance education students and regular students was useful.

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