ADILABAD: Three months after the students of Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT), popularly known as IIIT-Basara, went on a peaceful strike modelled on the principle of “satyagraha” demanding better living conditions, IT & Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Monday spent time with the students learning about their problems first hand, the quality of education being imparted and the type of food that was being served to them in the hostels.
He appreciated the students for their Gandhian style of peaceful protest, sometimes sitting out in the rain, without any political involvement. The Minister was all praise for the students for forming a student governing council to deal with the problems in the university without involving any Opposition parties. “I like your initiative and your sense in keeping the Opposition parties at bay and fighting heroically but peacefully for one full week in June, even braving rain,” he said and advised them to take up a specific initiative.
Laptops, add’l classrooms
During his interaction with the students, Rama Rao announced that an innovation hub (mini T-hub) will be set up on the campus to spur the students’ imagination and creativity. The Minister promised a mini outdoor stadium with an investment of `3 crore, distribution of laptops to all the students who were left out, and construction of 50 additional classrooms.
He said he would visit the university in November to personally distribute the laptops and asked Vice-Chancellor V Venkata Ramana to see that the conference hall has chairs for the students to sit.
“If students sit on the floor, it does not look good. Either they should sit on chairs or we should go and sit with them,” he said and did exactly what he said after the meeting. He spent a lot of time chatting with the students and taking pictures with them. He enquired with the students which village they came from and what they were studying, and whether their stay was good in the hostel. Continued on P2
KTR promises to set up IT Park in Adilabad
“It is also your responsibility to keep the university campus spick and span. It is not just the job of 100 odd sanitation staff to clean up the mess that you create. You are about 10,000 in number, including the staff. How can 100 odd sanitation staff clear your garbage? Learn not to litter the campus and, at least once in a week, do “shramdan” to keep the surroundings clean. In fact, you could impose fines on those who litter the campus, instead of depending on the administration to keep the campus free of garbage,” KT Rama Rao said.
AI, IoT courses
The Minister consented to the student’s request for introduction of courses in the new-age technologies in areas like AI, IoT, Drone, ML, and so on. He also asked the university to improve the quality of education. Earlier, the Minister visited NTT, BDNT Lab in Adilabad, and later interacting with employees, most of whom were locals. He promised an IT Park over five acres, and said the government was developing IT Infrastructure in Tier II towns. He praised Sanjay Deshpande who set up the NTT BDNT Lab in Adilabad and said that he was delighted to see Adilabad youth competing with those in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. He hoped that the IT companies would book space in the IT Park by the time the foundation stone is laid. Rama Rao promised a dedicated transformer for the NTT-BDNT lab and renovation of the makeshift building in which it is running now at government cost.
The Minister took a dig at the Centre for not reopening the cement factory in the town. Though several representations have been made to the Centre, the Centre had remained callous to the State’s entreaties. “There is now a great demand for cement and in the private sector, the companies were doing very well. When the cement companies were growing bigger by acquiring other companies and flourishing, why can’t CCI,” he wondered.