Pondicherry Central University vice-chancellor (in-charge) Anisa Basheer Khan on Monday said that they will provide 25 per cent reservation for the local students once they get the UGC assent.
Speaking at a press meet on Monday, she said that the executive council of the university has approved the proposal to provide 25 per cent reservation and has sent it to the UGC. “Once the UGC gives its approval, we will implement it,” she said. She added that the university was already offering 25 per cent reservation for local students in some of the PG courses.
When asked about the Kavya and Vidya case in which the High Court of Madras had ordered the university authorities to award compensation for doubly victimising them, the vice-chancellor (in-charge) stated that the previous administration had challenged the Madras High Court judgment in the Supreme Court. “The present administration is consulting the advocates to retrieve the case in order to help the students. This will take some time. We are following up the issue and the administration will do all the necessary things to help them,” she said.
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While the Pondicherry Central University has been in the news for the wrong reasons so far till last year, it has some good news to cherish. The National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF), Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has placed the university in the 13{+t}{+h}position among the 100 institutions of higher learning in India. Among the Central Universities, it is 8{+t}{+h}in rank and first among affiliated universities.
The MHRD has brought out the first India Rankings 2016 for six categories of institutions including engineering, management, pharmacy, architecture, universities and college. The parameters for ranking the universities include Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR), Research Productivity, Impact and IPR (RPII), Graduation Outcome (GO), Outreach and Inclusivity (OI) and Perception (PR).
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Ms. Khan stated that the Pondicherry Central University stood second in the implementation of RTI portal through online. She underlined that the university established in 1985 always stood for quality education and innovative research,” she said. Explaining the achievement, the vice chancellor (in-charge) said that as per the government of India’s National Mission on Education through information and communication technology, an amount of Rs. 9 crore has been sanctioned for the execution of campus wi-fi connection in the university. “The project which began in October last year will be completed by May,” she said.
The university will build hostel for boys and girls with Rs. 14 crore each. Besides, the Ministry of social justice has agreed to sanction Rs. 2.8 crore for the construction of boys and girls hostels for the SC/ST/OBC students.
The Pondicherry University has entered into memorandum of understanding (MoU) with many institutions for collaborative research. This includes MoU with Navin Saxena Research Technology Centre, Gujarat, in association with Clinical Research Organisation – Quest Care and a specialised manufacturing unit for transdermal patches at the Kandla Special Economic Zone in Guajart. The university has also proposed to sign MoU with the following institutions: Central Council for Research in Siddha, Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, Chennai; National Maritime Foundation (NMF), New Delhi; Asia Fellow Association (AAS), New Delhi; Indian Coast Guard Headquarters, New Delhi; Agricultural University Plovdiv, Bulgaria; Sorbonne University, Lyon 2, France; University of Ontario, Canada; University of Denver, USA.
The Pondicherry Central University has streamlined the scholarship system and will award merit scholarships. The scholarship which was given to the first rank holders will be extended to the second and third rank holders. “The first rank holder will get Rs. 2,000 per month, the second and third rank holders will get Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 1,000 respectively,” Ms. Khan said.
She added that scholarships will also be awarded to the M.A. Integrated courses on par with that being received by the M.Sc. Integrated students. The university is also going online by digitising degree certificates and leave application process.
“The convocation for the students of 2013-14 and 2014-15 will be held immediately after the elections,” she said.