CHENNAI: Aiming to make students of higher educational institutions more employable, a slew of measures was announced in the state budget. But no specific announcement on financial help for state universities has caused concern among academicians.
From announcing schemes to making polytechnic colleges industry-ready to help students qualify competitive examinations like Staff Selection Commission, Railways and Banking, the budget contains many lucrative schemes. Even when there is an uptick in the budget allocation, it remains silent on the financial problems faced by the state universities. This year, Rs 8,212 crore has been allocated for the higher education department against last year’s Rs 6,967 crore.
“State universities are in a bad shape due to the financial crisis, and we were expecting a specific amount for each university to tide over the crisis. But, no such announcement was made. Last year, out of the Rs 6,967 crore, only 760 crore was allocated to 13 state universities. Hopefully, this year, our share will increase,” said the vice chancellor of a state university on condition of anonymity.
In the budget, Rs 3,014 crore has been allocated to upgrade 45 Government Polytechnic Colleges to Industry 4.0 standards. Similarly, new Skill Labs will be established in 100 government and government-aided engineering and arts and science colleges in the coming year at a cost of Rs 200 crore.
To enhance the number of youth clearing Staff Selection Commission, Railway and Bank examinations, the government announced that 1,000 candidates will be selected annually and provided quality training, with boarding and lodging facilities, for six months in Chennai, Coimbatore, and Madurai regions. A sum of Rs 6 crore will be allocated for the purpose.