The State government is seriously considering setting up a new university in Raichur, Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayaraddi said here on Sunday.
He was speaking at the valedictory of the 82nd all India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan.
He said that the State government is committed to increasing the gross admission ratio in Hyderabad Karnataka region.
“One of the ways to do that is to open more and more centres of higher education. Towards this end, we will try to open a new university in Raichur. Most of our leaders and writers are of this opinion. I will convey their aspirations to the Chief Minister,” Mr. Rayaraddi said.
He said that the government would also strive to improving existing higher education institutions.
He suggested that the Kannada Sahitya Parishat should try to make writers and thinkers the focal point of sammelans instead of politicians.
This is a literary event and writers should naturally get precedence over others, he said.
Sharan Prakash Patil, Medical Education Minister, asked leaders and mass media to highlight the positive steps taken by the State government towards addressing regional imbalance in the Hyderabad Karnataka region, rather than complaining about the negative aspects.
“We should realise that the State government has decided to fill 30,000 vacancies in government departments in the Hyderabad Karnataka region under the provisions of Article 371(J) of the Constitution. Already, we are in the process of filling 12,000 posts. A minimum of 6,000 engineering seats and 700-800 medical seats are available to students from the region. I concede that there may be some small lapses in the implementation of Article 371(J), but we should try to look beyond them and appreciate the good work,” he said.
S.N. Bose Raju, MLC and working president of the sammelan reception committee, thanked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for releasing an unprecedented amount of Rs. 4 crore grant for the Raichur sahitya sammelan.
