Calicut University’s campus at Tenhipalam had witnessed several agitations over the issue of women’s safety in hostels in recent months. K. Mohammed Basheer, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, says that creating a campus where the academic community, particularly women, enjoys a free and safe environment is one of his priorities.
With the help of heads of teaching departments, Dr. Basheer identified the problems faced by women students and has begun to address them one by one. “With the cooperation of teachers, staff and students, we can transform this campus into a safe and secure one,” he says.
Apart from cleaning the hostel premises regularly, street lights have been erected all the way from the hostels to the library and other centres. Security personnel have been put on alert along the way, especially at night. The construction of new hostel blocks will be speeded up, says Dr. Basheer.
“Already we have moved 120 students to the new block. We can accommodate 200 more women in the new building in two or three months,” he says, expressing hope that the issue of congestion in hostel rooms could be resolved to a great extent soon. “Our dream is to make it a residential campus. The housing for teachers and staff too should be improved by constructing new quarters. We can have vertical expansion here,” Dr. Basheer says.
However, it’s academics that get top priority, according to the Vice Chancellor. He has begun a move to renovate science laboratories as part of enhancing departmental facilities. “We will strengthen our Central Instrumentation Facility (CIF), a common lab for all departments, soon. It will be converted into a large centre where anyone can come and do research,” Dr. Basheer says. The work of the Science Block is also in full swing. The Vice-Chancellor laid the foundation for the last leg a few days ago. “We are trying to revive some of our major scientific centres, including Madhava Observatory and Radiation Laboratory,” he says. The accelerator centre offered by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) way back in 1987 will be revived with the help of Jose C. Palathingal, who was the first head of the Department of Physics at Calicut University. It will be a mega project involving nearly Rs. 30 crore.
Dr. Basheer says the university will also set up a skill development centre not only to help students from affiliated colleges to improve their employability, but also to empower the teachers. “Improving a teacher will have tremendous benefits for the students,” he says.
The University will also focus on increased foreign collaboration for the benefit of its academic stakeholders. The Centre for International Academics and Research (CIAR) will be strengthened. Germany’s Consul-General will visit the campus on March 23 as part of a collaborative venture. The International Institute of Social Studies (IISS) of Erasmus University, Netherlands, will begin exchange programmes with the University soon.
Dr. Basheer is also planning to take the newly set up Institute of Tribal Research Studies (ITRS) in Wayanad to newer heights. This centre for Adivasi students will be made a residential one.
The University has tied up with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for offering special coaching for Scheduled Caste students of affiliated colleges. “We will start this programme soon,” says Dr. Basheer.
The University health centre is awaiting an upgrade in order to make it beneficial for the entire campus community. At present, people within neighbourhood are using the health centre. “We will upgrade it by opening an IP wing,” says the Vice-Chancellor.
The ongoing synthetic track work is set to be a feather in the University’s sports cap. The Rs. 5.5 crore mega-project is likely to offer Calicut University one of the best synthetic tracks in the country. The sports hostel work too is on.
