The government is working on an ambitious proposal to elevate Ernakulam Maharaja’s College into a Centre of Excellence in research and learning by 2021.
The aim is to showcase the college as Kerala’s model government institution before the rest of the country. Confirming the development, Education Minister C. Ravindranath told The Hindu on Wednesday that state-of-the-art laboratories and modern libraries would come up on the campus within the next four years.
“The government has decided to provide about ₹30 crore as part of stepping up the technical infrastructure at Maharaja’s College soon. Classrooms will be made high-tech. Better learning facilities for students will be set up soon,” he said.
Stating that the major focus of the upgradation project involves strengthening research programmes on the campus, Mr. Ravindranath said that the objective was to make all departments focus intensively on research by 2021.
“The target should be to achieve a double A plus in the accreditation process by National Assessment and Accreditation Council. The departments should also come up with research journals,” he said.
Explaining that the Centre of Excellence project would not be confined to elevating the academic standards of Maharaja’s, Mr. Ravindranath said that the college could also set a model for meaningful initiatives in the field of art and culture.
“They could go beyond academics and set high standards in other areas too,” he said. Dispelling all doubts related to the autonomous status of the institution, the Minister said that no policy decision had been taken to drop the autonomous status of Maharaja’s.
“The college will continue to be an autonomous college,” he said while clarifying that the government has no plans to convert it into a deemed university.
Referring to the academic master plan, Mr. Ravindranath pointed out that the government had already allocated ₹30 crore towards the academic and infrastructure expansion plans of the college. Some of the major proposals include setting up a state-of-the-art laboratory facility on the campus modelled on international standards and construction of multi-storeyed library complex and a new academic block.
The government will support the modernisation of infrastructure utilising funds mobilised through its re-constituted Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).
