Punjab varsity reforms admission norms

To reserve seats for students with cancer, AIDS.

The expansion in sectors like information technology, banking and insurance has created a plethora of employment opportunities for professional degree holders.

Taking cognisance of the situation, the Panjab University in Chandigarh has taken initiatives to reform its academic courses.

The university, for instance, has introduced MBA in bio-technology and MSc in nuclear medicine and system biology, besides MBA courses at its regional centre in Ludhiana.

"We are in the process of finalising courses in tourism and management, food processing, and energy management," says the vice-chancellor of the Panjab University, RC Sobti, adding that the university is the first in the country to reserve seats in most of the courses for the students suffering from AIDS and cancer.

"We have not decided about the quota of seats but we will consider every case on merit. As of now, only one student suffering from cancer has approached us. Since we introduced it in the current session, we shall try to create more awareness among students to reach out to more students," he adds.

According to Sobti, an increase in the demand for offbeat courses is encouraging more and more students to take up new subjects. "The university has decided to introduce new courses like MSc in medical physics and radiation physics. It has also launched MA in police administration in which 10 seats out of 25 have been reserved for police officers. The Panjab University is also likely to have a multi-purpose convention centre, a 100 bed hospital and more hostels in future.

Sobti says the annual maintenance cost of the university is Rs 128 crore, out of which Rs 40 crore is funded by an inter-state corporate body. The balance amount is mobilised by the university on its own.