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Central university for Punjab approved: Badal

Ludhiana: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday announced that the Central Government has agreed in principle to set up a Central University in the State to impart state-of-the-art multi-disciplinary education to the students to enable them to compete at the global level.

Presiding over a centenary celebrations of Khalsa Dewan here at Khalsa College for Women, he said that the persistent efforts of our Government had fructified by way of establishing this prestigious university that would go a long way in setting up new benchmark in the pursuit of higher learning.

Outlining the significant of education in the socio-economic development of any State or nation, the Chief Minister said that the targets set by the Centre and State governments for a particular growth rate could not be achieved unless we make concerted efforts to promote education especially amongst the rural students.

Mr. Badal said that his government had envisaged an ambitious programme to revamp the entire education system in the State by upgrading three Government Senior Secondary Schools in each constituency at a cost of Rs. 50 lakh each besides opening a series of Adarsh Schools in each block of the State to provide quality education to the poor and meritorious students with rural background free of cost.

Each such school would involve an expenditure of Rs. 4 crore.

The basic objective of the entire programme was to boost the prospects of the education especially in the rural area to provide better educational facilities to the students at par with their brethren in the urban areas.

Showing concern over the poor turn out of rural students at the University level, Mr. Badal said; “It is nothing unusual rather a piquant situation when our poor students who could not get proper basic education at school level, how could they compete at the higher institutions of learning with the students who had studied in public and convent schools.”

The Chief Minister appreciated the remarkable efforts and milestones achieved by the Khalsa Dewan during its path of 100 years in the services of mankind by establishing premier institutions of education at Ludhiana.

He also lauded the initiative of Khalsa Dewan for making outstanding contribution for promoting the cause of education for women and empowering them.

He urged the management of the Khalsa Dewan to upgrade the existing college to a level of university since it was capable of doing so due to its vast experience and proven track of expertise in the field of education.

On the occasion, Mr. Badal honoured the ex-faculty members of the college who had put in almost more than three decades towards building the careers of numerous students. He also released a souvenir on the completion of 100 years of Khalsa Dewan (1907-2007). -- PTI

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