Central univ plan for north-east in doldrums

Having three Central Universities in north-east has left the Ministry of Finance crying fowl. And it may now delay HRD minister Arjun Singh?s gift of three Central government funded universities to the region.

Having three Central Universities in north-east has left the Ministry of Finance crying fowl. And it may now delay HRD minister Arjun Singh’s gift of three Central government funded universities to the region.

The proposal was recalled from the agenda of a Cabinet meeting held earlier this month. “It happened following objections by the Finance Ministry,” a source said. The HRD Ministry had proposed upgradation of two state universities one each in Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura into central universities and creating a new Central university in Sikkim.

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The explanation behind the move was that the states don’t have a university offering postgraduate degrees so the students have to take admission in a West Bengal university.

The proposed central universities will remove the regional imbalance and create more opportunities for students of north-east, an official said.