CHENNAI: Providing higher education free of cost and introducing shift system in all government colleges are among the new announcements made in the budget for 2007-2008. The Government has earmarked Rs.1,054 crore for higher education.

"With the objective of enabling students from the lower strata of society to pursue higher education, the Government has decided to grant exemption from payment of tuition fees to all students doing undergraduate courses in government arts and science colleges, thereby providing higher education free of cost in Government colleges," it said. Another significant decision relates to the introduction of the shift system in all Government colleges from the coming academic year. This will result in doubling the capacity in government colleges from 30,000 to 60,000. Apart from this, 500 additional classrooms will be constructed in these colleges at a cost of Rs. 25 crore.

It was announced that during the Eleventh Plan period that all universities in the State would choose a department to be developed into a `centre of excellence'. To start with, Rs.1 crore has been provided in the budget for Bharathiar University at Coimbatore.

To further improve the quality of technical education in southern districts, a new technical university, Tirunelveli Anna University, will be established.

New medical colleges will be established at Thiruvarur and Dharmapuri at a cost of Rs. 100 crore each. Infrastructure of medical college hospitals will be improved at a cost of Rs. 50 crore. Responding to representations from the public, the Government has decided to reduce quarterly tax paid by private contract carriages transporting school students to Rs. 50 and Rs. 100 for vehicles transporting college students. It has made it clear that the benefit of this reduction must be passed on to students.

In the coming academic year, 100 middle schools will be upgraded to high schools and 80 high schools to higher secondary schools. The Government has also decided to introduce "activity-based learning" from Standards I to IV in all primary and middle schools.

Schools with a low percentage of pass in educationally backward districts of Dharmapuri, Villupuram, Erode, Perambalur, Salem, Vellore, Tiruvannamalai and Cuddalore will be identified and special coaching given to the students at a cost of Rs.123 lakh. The Government will earmark Rs. 118 crore to establish computer laboratories in all 1,880 government higher secondary schools. English language laboratories will be set up at a cost of Rs. 130 lakh.

To encourage education through the Tamil medium, students studying in the medium in Standards X and XII will be exempted from paying fees for the public examination.

As current science books, new publications and historical works still remain beyond the reach of the common man and poor students, it has been decided to establish a modern State Library of international standard in Chennai. A book park will be established to make all books available under one roof.

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