Nod to private participation in public works

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, SEPT. 26. The Cabinet on Wednesday decided to give `No- Objection Certificates' (NOC) to start 81 self- financing engineering colleges and over 200 professional courses in other subjects in the State.

The Chief Minister, Mr. A. K. Antony, told presspersons after a Cabinet meeting that this was aimed at providing educational opportunities to students in the State itself as they were forced to depend on colleges in other States.

Out of the 81 engineering colleges, nine would be run by the Institute of Human Resources Development (IHRD), the LBS Centre for Science and Technology and the Cooperative Academy for Professional Education and the rest by private agencies.

The IHRD would start engineering colleges at Attingal, Kottarakara, Cherthala, Pala and Thiruvananthapuram, and the LBS Centre at Malappuram. Colleges under the cooperative academy are to come up in Thiruvananthapuram, Kayamkulam and Aranmula.

`NOCs, he said, would be given to 68 proposals to start Master of Computer Application courses (MCA) and 45 proposals for starting Master of Business Administration (MBA) courses by private agencies.

Of these, two MCA and two MBA courses would be in the Government engineering colleges. The Cabinet had also approved proposals for starting 90 pharmacy courses.

He said the number of certificates being given was not big considering the fact that Tamil Nadu and Karnataka had 225 and 103 engineering colleges respectively.

Besides, the applicants would have to fulfil the criteria of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and get its approval. The certificates, issued against the payment of a fee of Rs. 2,500 each, were for applying to the AICTE.

New posts would be sanctioned in Thiruvananthapuram, Wayanad, Idukki, Sreekrishnapuram and Kozhikode engineering colleges in view of staff shortage.

Mr. Antony said the Cabinet had decided to allow private participation in public works on an experimental basis. Private agencies would be entrusted with construction as well as maintenance of public roads. Besides, they would be allowed participation in the running of upto ten Public Works Department (PWD) rest houses.

The share capital of the State Roads and Bridges Corporation would be increased with aid from the Infrastructure Development and Financing Company and the Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Service. The Government would import tar owing to shortage.

The Cabinet, he said, had approved the list of 41 voters submitted by the Advisory Council of the Sivagiri Sreenarayana Dharma Sanghom Trust for the conduct of elections to its governing body without any changes. The Council would be directed to initiate the election process.

He said that computer education would be introduced in high schools from next year onwards with a view to achieving total computer literacy.

He said a Cabinet sub-committee had been constituted to finalise a masterplan for the development of Thiruvananthapuram. The Irrigation Minister, Mr. T.M. Jacob, has been asked to come up with the proposals.

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Section  : Southern States
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