Punjab CM Badal seeks central varsity in Punjab

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today urged the Centre to boost higher education in the state by setting up a central university, an IIM, IIT and Indian Institute of Information Technology.

Badal put forth these proposals during a meeting with the union human resource development minister Arjun Singh in his office here this morning.

An official spokesman said the union minister agreed to send a high-level team to visit the probable sites at Bathinda, Rupnagar and Sultanpur Lodhi before taking a final decision for setting up a central university.

He said the Chief Minster urged Arjun Singh to set up at least three model schools in educationally backward blocks of the state instead of one as agreed to earlier by the ministry.

The Chief Minister sought an increase in central share in the capital investment from the present 33 per cent to at least 50 per cent in the colleges to be set up in the educationally backward districts under the special scheme of the ministry.

Arjun Singh said the ministry was committed to ensure balanced growth of education in all states and Punjab would be accorded priority while allotting institutes of excellence.