The higher and technical education minister inaugurated a girls’ hostel and academic building at Pune's College of Engineering on Thursday.
Maharashtra higher and technical education minister Rajesh Tope has promised that he will ask the University Grants Commission (UGC) to grant deemed university (DU) status to the College of Engineering, Pune (CoEP).
Speaking at the inaugural function of the girls’ hostel and academic complex on Thursday, Tope said, “The institute already has financial, administrative and academic autonomy. But by granting the DU status, the institute will be able to award its own degrees.”
The college had sent the proposal for DU status to the UGC in 2009. However, it is still pending. Tope said, “The college depends on us for funds for various projects. I will ensure that funds are made available to them without any hassles.”
“I also believe that they should create their own finances. I have directed the institute to submit the proposal to the state government for elite state institute status as the college is one of the 20 best institutes in the country,” said Tope.
He said there is an urgent need for changes in recruitment rules for faculty at the institute. Despite autonomy, CoEP needs to take the permission of the state government for recruitment of faculty. He expressed concern for the quality of education in the state along with the falling gross enrollment ratio (GER) of higher education. “We have GER of 20%, which is higher than the national GER at 11%, but we need to work hard to improve this ratio,” he said.
‘More girls should study engineering’
Higher and technical education minister Rajesh Tope interacted briefly with the girls at the inauguration of the hostel. He said, “I want to see more girls in this field. We already have 50% reservation for girls and thus their number in higher education should be increased.” He assured them that funds for hostel buildings, if required in future, would be made available.
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