Quality of Higher Education in the State is Improving: Minister R Bindu

KOCHI:
The state government and the Higher Education Department are focused on providing the right platform for professional students to share their innovative ideas and connecting them with industry experts, said Dr R Bindu, Minister for Higher Education. She was speaking at a press conference conducted in connection with the third Professional Students’ Summit organized by ASAP Kerala on Saturday.

She added that the quality of higher education institutions in the state has improved in a big way in the recent past and universities and colleges have secured higher grades from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

“The state government is making efforts to transform students from being an employee to employers and creating new entrepreneurial opportunities. The Professional Students’ Summit is a part of this. The summit is held as a platform for students to present their ideas and share the problems and limitations they face,” the minister said.

The primary consideration of the government is to create conditions favourable for our students to stay here, said the Minister. The situation of students getting recruited to poor-quality universities abroad is a thing of concern and this goes largely unnoticed. The government would prevent this kind of exploitation, Minister said.

The government aims to turn Kerala society into a new knowledge society and the efforts in this regard are progressing. As a part of this, universities and other agencies are providing significant support for research and skill development. An IIT-level research centre will be set up adjacent to the Kerala Technical University. Mahatma Gandhi University has formed a company and started an Innovation and Incubation Centre at the cost of Rs 35 crore. The minister said that efforts are being made through higher education institutions to prepare professional students for employment and entrepreneurship at a practical level, including start-ups.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the Professional Students’ Summit on Saturday at 9.30 am. About 2,000 students and 500 teachers from more than 400 professional educational institutions will participate in the summit. Bharat Biotech Executive Chairman Padma Bhushan Dr Krishna Ella is the chief guest. NAAC Chairman Dr Bhushan Patwardhan, Amazon Web Services Head of Business Development Amit Mehta, and other experts will hold various sessions and discussions with the students. Chief Minister will directly interact with the students at 4 pm. ASAP CMD Dr Usha Titus also participated in the press meet.