VELLORE: Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Dayanidhi Maran on Monday expressed the hope that Tamil Nadu would get one more Indian Institute of Technology, following the Centre's plan to create more such institutes for expanding the scope of higher education to all eligible students.

Speaking after releasing a commemorative postal stamp on Voorhees College here, he said more than Information Technology parks, the country needed more industrial estates to create jobs for students of arts and science streams.

Over two lakh arts and science students passed out of colleges every year; another 3.50 lakh came out of engineering colleges.

To enhance job opportunities, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi was taking steps for setting up industrial estates.

Consensus sought

Referring to Vellore MLA C. Gnanasekaran's demand for setting up an IT park at Vellore, Mr. Maran said he and the other two MLAs from the district, R. Gandhi and Durai Murugan, wanted the park in their constituencies. "Let them reach a consensus, then I will start the work... "

Mr. Maran said all 13 Ministers from the State in the Union Cabinet were competing with one another to bring more schemes to the State.

It was unfortunate that the State remained industrially backward during the AIADMK regime. Now that the DMK was back in power; the Centre and the State Government would try to set up more industrial units.

"Tamil Nadu under the DMK is on the verge of becoming an industrially advanced State."

More trains

Minister of State for Railways R.Velu said more trains would be operated from Vellore connecting all the States.

Steps would be taken to increase the frequency of trains from Vellore to Chennai.

A survey was being carried out for doubling the Tuticorin- Chennai line.

Plea for more funds

G. Viswanathan, Chancellor, Vellore Institute of Technology, and president, Alumni Association, Voorhees College, said only eight per cent of the students who cleared Plus-Two had access to higher education.

The Centre and the State should allocate more funds for reaching higher education to more students.

Ranipet MLA R. Gandhi; Mr. Gnanasekaran; former Director-General of Postal Service U. Srinivasa Raghavan; K.M. Khader Mohideen MP and CSI Bishop and chairman, College Governing Board, Y. William, spoke.

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