The project, which was approved by the World Bank last year, is designed to support engineering colleges, technical universities and polytechnics in achieving their visions of academic excellence.
BANGALORE, Feb. 9
THE World Bank has extended $250 million credit for the Technical/Engineering Quality Improvement project to be implemented in several States in the country.
It is expected that the project will help India boost the quality of its emerging young technicians and engineers and supply its economy with the level of professional excellence needed to foster greater competitiveness and productivity.
The loan agreement for the project was signed recently by the Union Government along with officials of the States Governments of Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
“I am happy that the World Bank is in partnership with the Government of India in accelerating the implementation of education reforms in the areas of school and professional education, in pursuance of the National Policy on Education”, Mr Michael Carter, Country Director, World Bank, India said.
The project will be implemented in these States under the coordination of the Department of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE), Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Government of India.
The project, which was approved by the World Bank on November 14 last year, is designed to support engineering colleges, technical universities and polytechnics in achieving their visions of academic excellence.
Institutions will be selected to participate in the project on a competitive basis depending on their capabilities and long-term planning for quality improvement, said a World Bank release.
All selected institutions will be required to network with others and provide services to the local community. It will also encourage granting of greater freedom to the institutions for their own governance and management of finances.
About 20 well-performing engineering education institutions will be selected as lead institutions, and a further 60 to 80 institutions will be networked with them. This will impact over 1,00,000 students, about 10 per cent of the total number of students enrolled for engineering degrees in India.
A major share of the funding will be utilised for quality-enhancing activities, such as introduction of teaching and research programmes in cutting edge technologies and modernisation of existing programmes and facilities. Some of the funding will be utilised for faculty training, extension services and development of new facilities, depending on the long-term plan presented by each of the selected institutions.
URL- http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2003/02/10/stories/2003021001241300.htm