Punjab CM stresses on quality education, reduces land requirement for private universities

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday stressed on the need for quality education and announced his decision to reduce the minimum land requirement for setting up private universities in the state from 35 to 25 acres.

The Chief Minister stressed on the need to ensure that quality education standards are maintained in the private universities and said that there are "some private universities offering courses that had no practical utility and failed to make students employable".

The move is aimed at boosting investment in Higher Education, said an official spokesperson, after the state cabinet approved the amendment to the Punjab Private University Policy-2010.

"Singh also inquired about the progress of the expert committee and the cabinet sub-committee set up by his government to study the possibility of setting up a regulatory authority for private universities in the state," the statement said.

He was informed that the expert committee had submitted its report, which would be sent to the cabinet sub-committee for its recommendations and further action.

"The decision has been taken in view of the higher cost of land in Punjab as compared to other states. Besides, it would also be instrumental in retaining maximum land under agriculture in Punjab, which is predominantly an agrarian state," it said.

"It is expected that the decision would lead to drawing higher investments in the field of higher education by making the sector more attractive to prospective entrepreneurs," it added.

"The same requirement is 10 to 20 acres in Haryana, 10 acres in Himachal Pradesh 30 acres in Rajasthan and 20 acres in Madhya Pradesh," it added.

The Punjab Private University Policy-2010 was formulated to expand infrastructure in the higher education sector by the private organizations across the state. As per Article 4.5 (iii) of this policy, the minimum land required for establishing a Private University is 35 acres.