Central Universities can utilise assets by introducing courses: Kapil Sibal

Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal today said that Central Universities (CU) can start some courses under Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) to maximize the use of their idle assets.

The minister, who chaired the meeting at Hyderabad Central University, said they formed a committee consisting of seven vice chancellors of different CUs to look into various issues including the inter university student transfers, common entrance test (CET) for professional courses after class 12 and optimum utilisation of university assets.

The ministry is holding discussions with all States to bring in the CET.

"The public assets of universities should be fruitfully utilised. If some universities teach only morning classes in some subjects, the assets of the university are lying unutilised rest of the time. So universities are to devise their own plan to optimally utilise the assets. They can use the money for university development", Sibal said.

The Minister said the core committee would work for three years and submit a report to the Ministry on various issues.

The committee will meet every four month to clear bottle necks if any. The idea is to give greater autonomy to the universities, Sibal told media persons.