HRD minister lays stones for IIT extension campus, IIIT

Union minister for human resource development MM Pallam Raju on Saturday laid the foundation stone of an extension campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Rajiv Gandhi Education City, Rai, Sonepat. In view of demand and recognition of quality education, the government has set up the ambitious project in the state, he said.

Chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who was also present on the occasion, said the opening of such centres would prove a milestone in promotion of the research and technical education.

Later, both also laid the foundation stone of the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) at Kilohrad village in Sonepat district.

Praising Hooda, Pallam Raju said during the past nine years the state government had laid special emphasis on higher and technical education in the state. He said more educational institutions would be set up in the state to lay special emphasis on skill education.

He said about 120 lakh children were coming to the work force every year in the country and to impart skill education to them the Centre had set up a number of institutions across the country. As part of same initiative, 20 new IITs were being opened in the country. He said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had made an action plan to educate 50 crore children by 2022.

Speaking on the occasion, Hooda said while the extension campus of IIT-Delhi would be constructed at a cost of Rs 500 crore, a sum of `128 crore would be spent on the construction of IIIT. The IIT extension campus would also have a Science and Technology Park, High Performance Computing Facility and Faculty Development Centre. The IIIT at Kilohrad would be the 11th such institute in the country and the first institute, which would be constructed in a rural area.

Hooda said during the past nine years, his government had laid special emphasis on technical education and as a result of this a number of new universities and colleges have been opened in the state.

In 2005, the number of seats in technical institutions were only 23,000, which have been increased to 1.5 lakh, added Hooda. He said educational institutions have been set up right from Panchkula to Sirsa. Citing examples, he referred to National Institute of Fashion Technology, National Institute of Design, Kalpana Chawla Medical College, Bhagat Phool Singh Women University and Medical College, NIFTEM, first defence university of the country.

Taking a dig at the opposition parties, he said people need to remain vigilant from those people who are trying to mislead them and asked them to see for themselves who are their real well wishers. He said the Congress' Gohana Rally on November 10 has snubbed the opposition to that extent that these parties had stopped organising rallies in the state.