City is ideal place to set up a global university: Academics

  • | Saturday | 14th July, 2018

“The city has universities for agriculture, arts and sciences, and also a higher education institution exclusively for women. All this makes Coimbatore an ideal place for a world-class higher education institution,” he told TOI.According to the new announcement, the centre would fund existing institutions based on their potential. Among the 14 central universities, one was decided to be set up in Coimbatore.An official team had visited Coimbatore in search of a site for the institute. Later, a central university planned in Tamil Nadu was set up in Tiruvarur.The city has all the essential resources to have a world-class higher education institute, said C Pichandy, former general secretary of the Association of University Teachers (AUT). But it was not pursued, said academics.It was then decided that an Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) will be started in the city.

Coimbatore: With the central government naming six higher educational institutions — three government and three private — as Institution of Eminence (IoE), academics and education activists in the city have reiterated the need for an international university in Coimbatore.While the city has several eminent educational institutions and also strong industry presence, academics say the presence of a world-class education institute would help it greatly.In 2008, the Congress government in its 11th Five Year Plan had announced that it would start IITs, seven IIMs, 14 universities having world-class facilities and 16 universities in states that do not have a central university. Among the 14 central universities, one was decided to be set up in Coimbatore.An official team had visited Coimbatore in search of a site for the institute. But it was not pursued, said academics.It was then decided that an Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) will be started in the city. But it was later shifted to Trichy. Later, a central university planned in Tamil Nadu was set up in Tiruvarur.The city has all the essential resources to have a world-class higher education institute, said C Pichandy, former general secretary of the Association of University Teachers (AUT). “The city has universities for agriculture, arts and sciences, and also a higher education institution exclusively for women. Geographically, the city also provides a link to neighbouring states such as Kerala and Karnataka. All this makes Coimbatore an ideal place for a world-class higher education institution,” he told TOI.According to the new announcement, the centre would fund existing institutions based on their potential. Institutions from Tamil Nadu have not featured in the first list. Based on that, IIT Madras stands more chance of getting the fund, said MDMK youth wing secretary V Eswaran, who had staged a demonstration for the cause in 2011.“This new announcement defeats the 2008 announcement of starting a world-class institution in the city. So Coimbatore, which had earlier missed its chance to get a world-class institution, now has no chance to get it,” Eswaran said, adding that the party had submitted a representation to the HRD minister when he visited the city.

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