Punjab govt to set up centres of excellence in state

The Punjab government will set up centres of excellence at various places in the state in collaboration with IT groups like IBM and CISCO, minister Charanjit Singh Channi said today.
Channi, who is the Punjab Technical Education minister, while presiding over a meeting with representatives of both the companies said IBM and CISCO have agreed to set up the centres of excellence on PPP mode with the state government.
An official release quoting Channi as saying that both the groups submitted their proposals to work in a joint venture with the state government in the field of IT and technical education.

He said IMB and CISCO have been asked to submit a detailed project report so that modalities are worked out at the chief minister's level to implement the project.
The minister said these centres will be established as model centres and a centre of excellence each would be set up in Majha, Malwa, Doaba and Poadh zones of the state.
"It will be made mandatory for other private technical educational institutes of the state to adopt this model after its successful implementation to provide quality technical education to the youth," Channi said.
He said it has been decided that the state government will provide basic building infrastructure to these groups who in turn they would provide other technical infrastructure and faculty services in these centres.

Representatives of both the groups said besides B.Tech, the other vocational courses of ITI's would also be taught in these centres.