The government will actively support an academic collaboration between Digital University Kerala (DUK) and the University of Oxford.
The State Budget has earmarked ₹10 crore to fund “State-specific scholarships” that will be introduced in association with Oxford University. Students who complete postgraduation at DUK can enrol for PhD programmes at Oxford University under the scheme, provided they return to Kerala and contribute towards the development of the State for three years after completing their studies.
Self-sufficiency
Digital University Kerala, which has been able to mobilise assistance to the tune of ₹200 crore from national and international agencies within 3 years of its inception, has generated income from the first year of its inception and is nearing self-sufficiency. Under the circumstances, the government will accord sanction to the university to avail itself of loans for future development. The government will also provide interest subvention assistance for these loans. In addition, developmental activities to the tune of ₹250 crore will be implemented in the university.
Three regional centres of DUK will come up in the north, east and central zones of the State.
The Budget has announced steps to set up interdisciplinary research centres in nine government engineering colleges at the graduate and postgraduate levels to promote research activities.
Allocations
A total allocation of ₹456.71 crore has been made for the higher education sector, while an amount of ₹247.30 crore has been set aside for the technical education sector.
The government plans to float a scheme for mobilising funds through voluntary contributions for the sector.
An amount of ₹16.50 crore has been set apart for the Kerala State Higher Education Council. The Budget also earmarked ₹10 crore to establish three centres of excellence under the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University.
An amount of ₹13.40 crore has been earmarked for Kerala Resources for Education Administration and Planning (K-REAP) e-governance platform and centres of excellences in the sector. ASAP Kerala will receive an allocation of ₹35.10 crore to implement various skill development programmes.
An amount of ₹30 crore has been set apart as the State’s share under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) scheme for infrastructure development, research, and other activities in the Higher Education Sector. The Centre’s share of ₹45 crore is expected for the scheme execution.
The government will establish a multi-disciplinary museum, ‘Shika’, by linking Kerala’s biodiversity, history, and folklore heritage and parlance.
The School of Management Studies in CUSAT and the Government College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram, will receive ₹1 crore each. The Centre for Professional and Advanced Studies under the MG University has been allocated ₹3 crore for infrastructure development.
