Union Cabinet okays Bill, clears way for Central university in Anantapur

Just a couple of days before facing the no-trust vote in the Lok Sabha, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Central Universities (amendment) Bill which will facilitate the establishment of a C

VIJAYAWADA: Just a couple of days before facing the no-trust vote in the Lok Sabha, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill which will facilitate the establishment of a Central University in Anantapur district as assured in the AP Reorganisation Act.  Announcing the decision, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar tweeted that the university will start its first academic session from August 5.

“In a historic first, Central University of Andhra Pradesh will start an academic session on 5th August 2018. Earlier the practice was different — First the cabinet will take the decision, then the bill will be passed in Parliament. That meant loss of at least one year. The Union Cabinet approved the Central Universities Amendment Bill on Wednesday, the route for starting the academic year in AP Central University is clear without the need of the approval of the Parliament,” he tweeted.

Javadekar said that to save on time, the Narendra Modi government had created a new rule under which a society was formed to start the college immediately under the mentorship of the Hyderabad Central University. “This is unique and Andhra people will celebrate,” he claimed and expressed the confidence that the cabinet decision will result in more facilities for Andhra Pradesh in higher education. “This is the @narendramodi government that promises and delivers,” he said.

Earlier in May this year, the Union Cabinet gave in-principle approval for establishing the Central University at Janthaluru village in Anantapur district and also allocated Rs 450 crore in the first phase. In fact, the Central University of Andhra Pradesh has invited candidates to apply for admission to various UG/PG courses through the entrance examination, which was conducted on July 8. The results are yet to be announced.

From this academic year, the university is offering six courses like BSc (Hons) Economics, BA (Hons) Political Science, MA Telugu, MA English language and Literature, B.Vocational Tourism and Travel Management and B. Voc in Retail management and IT.

According to sources at the University of Hyderabad, the basic inaugural will take place at Janthuluru on August 5, while classes will commence at the interim campus at JNTU-Anantapur. “The block that is constructed for start-up incubation at JNTU-A has been allocated to us for conducting classes. We have also issued some recruitment ads for guest faculty, etc,” the sources said.

However, the State government did not particularly sound happy. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, during a teleconference with TDP MPs, wondered, “It has taken four years for the Union Cabinet to amend the Act! How long will it take for them to amend the Act for setting up the Tribal University?”.

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