Laying the foundation stones for two new campuses at Dheerpur and Rohini for Ambedkar University Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that education has been the top priority for his government and with the two new campuses, the capacity of AUD would increase from 3,400 students to 8,000 students in three-four years.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Kejriwal said: “Our philosophy is that governance will be incomplete if the government fails to provide high quality education to students. There is no developed country in the world, which does not have a robust education system. The path for India to become a developed nation is to provide good education to our children irrespective of their socio-economic background.”
Deficiency in system
The Chief Minister added that students after Class 12 are looking for courses which can fetch them a good job and salary and if the students after graduation are unable to get good jobs, it indicates there is a deficiency in the higher education system.
“We need to prepare our students for jobs. When we came to power in Delhi, only 1.1 lakh seats were available in the colleges in the Capital and that has now improved to 1.5 lakh. Around 2.5 lakh students pass out of Class 12 each year, so a gap still remains and many students have to drop out after Class 12. We need to cater to 1 lakh more students,” Mr. Kerjiwal said.
Skill-based courses
He added that in the context of the economic slowdown, the government was planning to enable needy students to get employment by introducing more world class skill centres and skill-based courses through which they can be directly taken into the job market.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in his address said that the biggest problem in Delhi’s higher education was a British-era law called the Delhi University Act, passed in 1922.
“The British believed that education must be restricted to the elite in the country. This Act made Delhi University the only affiliating university in Delhi and till date we are suffering the consequences of that. This was a provision made when Delhi would produce only 2,000 students every year. Today Delhi’s schools are producing 2,00,000 students each year. We need to change this law. Those who can do this do not seem to have this on their priority at the moment,” he said.
Sharing plans for the development of the campus, Ambedkar University said that the two new campuses at Dheerpur and Rohini would be environmentally sustainable and meet GRIHA 5 standards.
“Both campuses will ensure best standards in energy, water and waste management. The master plans and design of the campuses are made in a way to ensure most conducive environment to facilitate collective engagement, spaces for self-growth, knowledge production and dissemination, community living and inclusive culture,” the university said.
It added that the campuses are also seen to be permeable and connected with neighbourhood communities and beyond to engage with and contribute to the city.
