Nagpur: Expressing disappointment over shortage of funds plaguing India’s higher education sector, Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said government spends merely 2.65% of its GDP on it, which was 10%, when first five-year plan was made.He was speaking during NU’s 106th convocation ceremony at Suresh Bhat auditorium which was also graced by HCL founder Shiv Nadar. VC SP Kane and pro-VC Pramod Yeole shared the dais along with Management Council members and deans of various faculties.Justifying presence of unaided institutions, which was allowed by then CM Vasantdada Patil in 80s, the minister said, higher education sector needs massive funding which the government can’t provide. “The private sector filled up its gap and some of the engineering colleges run by them are far better than the government ones in the city.”Issuing a veiled warning to those who bring politics into academic circles, Gadkari advised them to keep it away from Nagpur University. “Be it Congress or BJP, we don’t want any politics inside NU circles. Even caste-based politics should be weeded out.”The city MP said universities should be place of education, research, and use of science and technology. “The knowledge gained should be converted into wealth which is need of the country. Unfortunately, the academic circles are turned into political battlefields, which needs to be stopped. I will support the NU top brass in rooting out politics,” he said.NU officials were quick to point out that Gadkari’s indication was towards senior academicians Baban Taywade, Dr Ved Prakash Mishra and others, who ran political groups and were in complete control of statutory bodies till last few years, that led to degradation of quality. Their dirty politics over ‘250 banned colleges’ operating without a single teacher and infrastructure, had led to ouster of then VC Vilas Sapkal.The city MP lauded Nadar for accepting NU’s invitation and narrated his journey from his younger where he was working in Tamil Nadu to establishing HCL, which clocked a profit of Rs10,000 crore this fiscal and had about 1.39 lakh employees on its rolls, across several countries.“The company’s office here had already recruited about 2,000 software professionals and would be appointing 12,000 more. Graduates from NU engineering colleges would have a golden chance to bag jobs,” Gadkari said.He called on NU to approach the industries at Mihan and ask them about their requirements. “The IT bellwethers like TCS, Infosys and HCL had already started their units. Ramdeobaba’s Patanjali is also setting up a big plant. You need to talk these companies on their requirements. We call Nagpur as Tiger capital where lots of employment opportunities in hospitality and tourism sector are available.”The minister further advised academicians to promote use of mineral and natural resources in Vidarbha region for producing Jatropha oils and biofuels which would as aviation fuel and reduce dependency on petrol and diesel. Such industries would also provide employment to tribals. “You should frame your syllabuses according to their needs so that NU students should have chance to get jobs there. It’s a fast changing world and you need to coordinate with the industries. If you failed to follow, the students would be at loss. NU’s role is very important growth of the region,” he said.

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