Following is from the PIB http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=40292.
Whereas the Central Government is empowered under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956 to declare, on the advice of the UGC, an institution of higher learning as a deemed-to-be-university;
2. And whereas, a proposal was received from Department of Space for conferment of status of ‘Deemed-to-be-University’, under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, to ‘Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology’ being set up at that point of time under the aegis of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) near Thiruvananthapuram in the State of Kerala;
3. And whereas, the University Grants Commission has examined the said proposal and vide its communication bearing No.F.27-1/2007 (CPP-I) dated the 2nd January, 2008 has recommended conferment of status of ‘deemed-to-be-university’ to Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram for a period of five years;
4. Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, the Central Government, on the advice of the University Grants Commission (UGC), hereby declare that Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IISST) Thiruvanathapuram shall be deemed to be a university, under de novo category, for the purposes of the aforesaid Act, provisionally for a period of five years, with immediate effect, subject to the following conditions:
(i) The functioning of the IISST as well as its performance shall be reviewed annually by the UGC through its Expert Committee. The status conferred upon the IISST will be confirmed after five years on the basis of performance report s of the Expert Review Committee of the UGC and the recommendation of the Commission thereon;
(ii) The Department of Space shall finalise the Memorandum of Association (MoA) and Rules of the IISST in accordance with the model MoA/Rules prescribed by the UGC and in concurrence with the Commission. For this purpose, the Department of Space shall also take into account the variations observed by the UGC in the said MoA & Rules and rectify and amend the relevant provisions in concurrence with the Commission. The IISST may, however, retain the text of the provisions proposed under Clause 20 of its Rules.
5. The declaration as made in para 4 above is further subject to fulfilment of the following conditions :
(i) The objectives of the Trust concerned and ‘Deemed-to-be-University’ institution should confine to educational and related social and charitable activities. The IISST should not undertake or engage in any activities that are of commercial and profit making in nature.
(ii) As and when necessary, IISST shall update or revise or modify its MoA/Rules with the approval of the UGC. Further, specific changes/amendments, if any, suggested by the Ministry of Human Resource Development or/and the UGC shall also be carried out by the deemed-to-be-university institution in its MoA/Rules with the approval of the UGC.
(iii) The accounts of the IISST shall be open to inspection/audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. There shall also be no diversion of assets of the IISST Society without prior permission of the Government of India / UGC.
(iv) The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram shall continue to support the IISST with its infrastructure facilities till the time the IISST has a fully developed and permanent infrastructure of its own at the location near Thiruvananthapuram where such facilities are being developed by the Institute concerned.
(v) The academic programmes being offered or to be offered by IISST shall conform to the norms and standards prescribed by the relevant Statutory Councils such as the UGC and the AICTE. The IISST shall not offer / award, as the case may be, any degree(s) that are not specified by the UGC. It shall also ensure that the nomenclatures of the degrees, etc. to be awarded by it are specified by the UGC under Section 22 of the UGC Act, 1956.
(vi) The IISST shall start new academic courses only as per the norms prescribed by the concerned Statutory Councils such as the UGC, AICTE, etc.
(vii) The IISST shall take all the required steps to get itself rated for valid accreditation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), etc., as the case may be, in terms of instructions issued by the UGC vide its circular No.F.6-1(7)/2006(CPP-I) dated the 12th March, 2007.
(viii) The IISST shall not affiliate any teaching institutions / colleges.
(ix) The IISST shall take immediate steps to start Postgraduate, doctoral and post doctoral programmes in emerging areas of space technology.
(x) The IISST shall not conduct any distance education programme without prior approval of UGC and Distance Education Council (DEC). The guidelines issued by both the DEC and the UGC from time to time in the matter of imparting education through distance mode have to be complied with by it.
(xi) The IISST shall not start and run any study centre / extension centre / off-campus centre / off-shore campus without obtaining the requisite prior approval of the UGC/ Government of India, as the case may be.
(xii) The IISST shall take immediate steps to comply with all the suggestions made by the UGC’s Expert Visiting Committee in its inspection report submitted to the UGC, so as to bring about the recommended improvement.
(xiii) All the prescribed norms and procedures of the relevant Statutory Councils, such as UGC, AICTE, etc. and other authorities concerned in the matter of admission of students, intake capacity of students, starting of new courses / programmes, renewal of approval to the courses, etc. will continue to be in force, and shall be adhered to by the IISST.
(xiv) In all its advertisements, public notices, communications, etc., the IISST shall distinctly mention under its nomenclature by inserting (within brackets) a line, which shall read: “Declared as Deemed-to-be-University’ under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956”.
(xv) The IISST shall abide by all the norms and guidelines as laid down by the UGC and other Statutory Councils such as AICTE, etc. from time to time, as are applicable to institutions notified as ‘Deemed-to-be-Universities’
Deptt. Of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development
PIB, New Delhi/ Dated: Asadha 23, 1030/July 14, 2008
HB/
July 14th, 2008
Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.
The common university of the regional grouping, to be set up on the lines of American Ivy League universities, will also induct students and recruit faculty from across the globe so that it is not confined to "narrow distinctive barriers".
The proposal for SAU was made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the SAARC Summit in Dhaka in December 2005 and later ratified by the eight member nations.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee laid its foundation at a 100-acre plot in Maidan Garhi, Mehrauli in south Delhi on May 26. The campus construction is due to start early next year.
… A course likely on offer is "conflict resolution given that terrorism is a major problem confronting the world", he said but the final decision on academic activities will be taken in February next year when the curricula and by-laws would be drafted.
SAU will have a cafeteria approach where a student pursuing science can also take up a course in humanities.
"In a cafeteria you can pick and choose any item you like. In this university too, you can have more liberty and wider choice and there will be no narrow distinctive barriers," Chadha said.
The initial investment for SAU will be made by the Indian government after which the member countries could contribute and the university would also raise money from international financial institutions and donors, the CEO said.
The university could take up special studies on economy, culture, religion and societies in the SAARC nations, Chadha, who is on the PM’s Economic Advisory Council, said.
… The governance structure of SAU, with link campuses in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan, will be laid down by February, Chadha said.
Gowhar Rizvi of Harvard University, who was entrusted with the task of preparing the university’s concept note, has advised a middle path between government-funded and private education.
The role of the SAARC nation governments will be confined to providing annual subsidies and grants, the concept note has recommended.
July 14th, 2008
Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.
A draft Ordinance for 12 new universities and upgrading four Bilaspur University (Chattisgarh), Garhwal University (Uttarakhand), Goa University and Sagar University (Madhya Pradesh) is expected to be put up for Union Cabinet approval. This will take the number of central universities to 37.
An Ordinance for the new IITs is also being considered to implement the initiatives that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had formally announced in his Independence Day address in 2007.
The department of higher education had earlier sought Cabinet approval to amend the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961, to include the eight new IITs and to form a society under the Societies Act, 1861, to set them up. The plan to form a society is being shelved to hasten the process. With the Banaras Hindu University’s Institute of Technology also slated to be upgraded to an IIT, the number of IITs will increase to 16.
For the new IITs, the government has provided for Rs 2,000 crore in the 11th Plan and, to start with, Rs 50 crore has been allocated in Budget 2008. For the 16 central universities, Rs 2,725 crore has been provided for in the Planm, with Rs 50 crore allocated in the Budget.
July 14th, 2008
Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.
The Gopalpur centre of the Nettur Technical Training Foundation (NTTF) is set to post its mark in technical education scenario of Orissa. The Gopalpur centre of NTTF that is promoted by Tata Steel, has received a huge number of offers from various corporate houses across the country.
Adding to that, the students have also got offers with huge pay packages from the corporate houses in the campus placement drive. In the first phase of campus interview, about 100 out of 120 students were roped in by various corporate houses. The list includes domestic corporate houses like Maruti-Suzuki, Orissa Cements Ltd, Seimens Medical, L&T, Bosch Automotive Electronics, Calr Zeiss India, Punj Lloyd, Enercon, Robert Bosch, Tribi Embedded Technologies, Hical Technologies, Vasundhara Automation and Engineering Solutions, Soma Enterprises, Asia Motor Works, Makino Machine Tools and Venus Automations and international companies like Al Shirawi Enterprise of Dubai. While Maruti-Suzuki recruited 16 students from this campus in the preliminary test, Ak Shirawi Enterprise of Dubai selected 21 students.
Most of the organisations who hired the students will provide accommodation, transport and subsidised food. Some of the companies have already taken students for advanced training with the provision of food, accommodation and stipend, and they will get handsome pay packages after completion of the training.
Out of the total strength of NTTF, as many as 52 students are from the project affected families of TATA. The students have been trained in the institute in personality development and updated industry oriented high quality machines and there is no need to get training again in the industry, which they will join after the completion of the course, according to Rashmi Ranjan Gouda, a project affected diploma student of the institute, who is selected for the Maruti Suzuki in the campus.
July 14th, 2008