Arunachal Pradesh First professional ed varsity With laying the foundation stone of the privately promoted Indira Gandhi Technological and Medical Sciences University (IGTMSU) in lower Subansiri district in the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh (pop. 1.38 million) on December 28, the first step has been taken to provide professional higher education in the state. “The commitment of my government to provide higher education to the people has been fulfilled,” said chief minister Nabam Tuki speaking in Hapoli on the occasion. Citing criticism that Arunachal was the only state without a technical and medical college, Tuki said the commissioning of IGTMSU marks the beginning of a new era which will bring Arunachal on a par with other states of the Indian Union. The university will commence offering study programmes in nano-technology, laboratory management, radiology, and physiotherapy from January next year (2014). Under construction on 150 hectares at Gano village by the Delhi-based World Institute of Building Programme, “the university will offer technical and medical programmes,” said local member of the legislative assembly Padi Richo, who is supervising the project. Chhattisgarh Project prayas roll out Encouraged by the success of its education initiative Prayas, which prepares tribal students in Naxal-hit areas for admission into engineering colleges, the Chhattisgarh state government has extended the scheme to four more districts. In a directive to collectors of Sarguja, Raigarh, Korba and Bastar districts, tribal welfare minister Kedar Kashyap has asked them to launch the project in their districts at the earliest, said a government official addressing the media in Raipur on December 28. The tribal welfare department started Prayas — a residential school-cum-coaching institute for boys — in Raipur in 2010. The department selected students from Naxal-hit districts, who had cleared the class X boards that year. Since then 249 students of the first batch have passed their class XII board examination with a substantial number performing well in public entrance exams, including PET (Pre-Engineering Test), All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) and IIT-JEE. Besides providing free education, the department funds food, uniforms and other expenses. Following the success of Prayas, hitherto restricted to Plus Two (class XI-XII) students, the state government has applied the scheme to class VIII students to be selected from schools in remote areas. The new residential schools will be developed in the public-private partnership model and district collectors have been directed to coordinate with prominent companies such as NMDC, South Eastern Coalfields, Balco and Jindal Steel to implement the project. Jharkhand Anglo-Indian reservations demand Geoffery bonjour, vice chairman of the minority department of the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee, briefed reporters in Jamshedpur on December 15 about the demands of a delegation of Anglo-Indian leaders from across the country who submitted a memorandum to President Pranab Mukherjee on December 11 demanding reservation of seats for deserving students of the community in higher education. Other demands of the delegation include establishment of an Anglo-Indian desk in the ministry of minority affairs to deal with issues concerning the community, and national cultural centres…
