The State Cabinet has approved the Private Universities Bill to pave way for setting up top universities in the State, said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Participating in the first convocation of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT) Nuzvid IIIT campus on Wednesday, Mr. Naidu said the aim of the Bill was to provide quality education for students.
Assuring that Fee Reimbursement Scheme would be extended to rural students from poor economic background who pursue education in private universities, he said praised the RGUKT management for moulding rural youth into good engineers and termed that it was a memorable day for the students who were conferred with honorary degrees .
Promising to bring more universities to the State, the Chief Minister said that AP should be developed into an education hub and knowledge centre. “We have to strengthen our universities . RGUKT students have proved that rural students are excellent in studies,” he said and appreciated the management for encouraging girl child education saying that 55 percent of the total strength in the Nuzvid campus were girls.
Stressing the need for institute-industry tie-ups to inculcate job-oriented skills in students, he said that the government would take measures for linkage of industries with educational institutes soon.
Gold medals presented
Earlier, he laid the foundation stone for academic buildings. Mr. Naidu, along with Human Resources Development (HRD) Minister Ganta Srinivas Rao and the university officials presented gold medals to nine toppers of different streams in the university.
Mr. Rao said that IIITs were planned in Prakasham and Rayalaseema in the coming years. RGUKT Chancellor D. Raj Reddy, in-charge Vice-Chancellor P. Vijay Prakash, in-charge Director P. Rama Narasimham and others spoke on the occasion.
Fee reimbursement scheme will be extended to rural students studying in pvt. universities, says CM