The first budget of Sree Narayana Guru Open University (SNGOU) was presented by Syndicate member Biju K. Mathew here on Friday.
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The budget for the financial year 2021-22 envisages a projected revenue of ₹64.53 crore, expenditure of ₹79.81 crore and a deficit of ₹15.28 crore. Infrastructure development received maximum impetus with various allocations for new buildings, renovation works and other technical facilities.
An amount of ₹35 crore has been set aside for acquiring 8-10 acres of land for university headquarters along with a token provision of ₹5 crore for the construction. The headquarters will have an administrative block, academic block and training centre, virtual studio production centre, campus library, academic schools and research centres, renaissance museum, publication division, botanical garden, hostel and residential complex for faculty among other facilities.
While ₹1.6 crore has been allocated for starting four regional centres, ₹1.9 crore will be spent as rent and allowances for the study centres. The budget also earmarks ₹2 crore for Academic Management System, an application software to handle various academic activities of the university. A library with all referral material, books in various languages, including Malayalam, English, Hindi, Sanskrit and world classics, will come up at a cost of ₹95 lakh.
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The university will start 21 degree courses and nine postgraduate courses under five schools. School of Humanities and Social Science, School of Sciences, School of Languages, School of Communications and Information Science and School of Law and Business studies will be headed by five professors.
Postgraduate courses will be offered in Malayalam, English, Hindi, Arabic, Sanskrit, Mathematics, History, Commerce and Sociology. The university will also be offering a couple of certificate and diploma courses that include diploma courses in Safety Management and Filmmaking. The courses will be held in association with Factories and Boilers Department and Centre for International Film Research & Archives (CIFRA).