MHRD Approves 16 New State Universities

Informing the Lok Sabha during the Question Hour, Minister of State for HRD, Mr. Satya Pal Singh revealed that the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development approved the setting up of 16 new state universities under RUSA (Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan). A total number of 8 universities among 10 will be established through ‘clustering of colleges’, and the remaining will be established by the upgradation of autonomous colleges, he informed.

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The new universities will be set up in the following states: -

• Puducherry
• Uttar Pradesh
• Odisha
• Manipur
• Maharashtra
• Madhya Pradesh
• Karnataka
• Jharkhand
• Jammu & Kashmir
• Himachal Pradesh
• Andhra Pradesh

Mr. Satya Pal Singh further clarified that the HRD Ministry is not in plans to accord central university status to any of the state university. No proposals on the same are under consideration, he added. The central government decided not to convert any of the state universities into central universities due to a few problems including disaffiliation of affiliated colleges, adjustment of existing staff and legacy issues, he pointed.

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Apart from setting up new universities, MHRD is also focusing on improving standards in higher learning institutes across the country. Recently, AICTE has come up with new guidelines for the technical institutes, followed by NAAC and NCTE. The government wants to give more autonomy to the top performing institutes with fewer regulations. It will ensure the institutes to work consistently for achieving the desired outcomes and goals. HRD Ministry has also begun the process for setting up 20 world class institutes.