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State to write to Centre for IIT

Staff Reporter

Limbavali plans to meet Arjun Singh as Karnataka has been ignored

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Addressing the problem: Minister for Higher Education Arvind Limbavali interacting with teachers of Bangalore University who were on strike in Bangalore on Friday.

Bangalore: The State Government will write to the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development seeking an Indian Institute of Technology for Karnataka.

On Thursday, the Union Government approved eight new IITs in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Speaking to presspersons here on Friday, Minister for Higher Education Arvind Limbavali said the State Government had sent a proposal to the Centre last year urging it to set up an IIT in Hassan. “Earlier, sometime during 1995, a high power committee had suggested Dharwad. Now not even one of the eight new IITs is in Karnataka,” he said.

Mr. Limbavali said that he planned to meet Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh in this regard.

Loan scheme

Asked why the loan scheme announced for CET students in the budget was not extended to students of other courses, the Minister said: “This initiative has been introduced on a pilot basis. We will study how best it can be improved and ensure that it is extended to others.”

About the State Knowledge Commission, he said it would be constituted on the lines of the National Knowledge Commission. “We will constitute a committee of experts to look into the terms soon,” he added.

Teachers warned

Later, Mr. Limbavali visited one of the evaluation centres and addressed the economics teachers, who until recently were boycotting evaluation. “In the interest of students, the evaluation of the remaining papers should be taken up quickly. All teachers should come for evaluation. The Department of Collegiate Education will be forced to take stringent action against those who are not attending the evaluation,” he said.

A special committee would soon be formed to look into the problems of the economics and commerce teachers with regard to who should teach what, given the inter-disciplinary nature of the courses, he said.

“I met with representatives of both faculties. I understand the problem. Hopefully, the committee will be able to shed some light on the issue,” the Minister said.

He planned to create a website, which would be updated regularly, through which teachers and academicians could get in touch with him directly.

“Any suggestions, complaints and views can be posted on it and I will attend to them personally,” he said.

Vice-Chancellor H.A. Ranganath said that the contentious teachers’ issue, though it does not have any financial implication, had many academic implications, which were more severe.

MLCs Marithibbe Gowda, B. Puttanna and Narayanaswamy; Director of Department of Collegiate Gowda K.V. Kodandaramaiah; Registrar Sanjay Vir Singh; Registrar (Evaluation) L. Radhakrishna; president of Bangalore University Economics Teachers’ Association M. Siddananda; general secretary of BUETA Krishne Gowda; and president of Bangalore University College Teachers’ College K.G. Lokesh, were present.

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