The Kerala Cabinet accorded sanction to introduce new-generation BTech and MTech courses in a select group of government engineering colleges on November 28 (Tuesday).
The Cabinet met on the sidelines of the government’s Navakerala Sadas outreach programme when it reached Tirur Assembly constituency in Malappuram.
The new programmes in emerging avenues have been allotted to the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram (CET); Government Engineering College (GEC), Thrissur; and GEC, Sreekrishnapuram in Palakkad.
MTech courses in Robotics and Automation, and Engineering Design will be introduced in GEC Thrissur, while GEC Palakkad will launch MTech courses in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, and Internet of Things.
An additional division for MTech in Structural Engineering has been sanctioned for CET. Each MTech division will have 18 seats.
BTech courses
GEC Thrissur will introduce a BTech course in Cyber Physical Systems.
One additional division each has been sanctioned for BTech in Electronics and Communication Engineering in CET and GEC Thrissur. There will be 60 seats each in the BTech divisions.
The additional courses will be commenced by utilising the existing work force, thereby incurring no additional burden on the State exchequer.
New high school assistant posts
The Cabinet also decided to create 639 temporary English high school assistant (HSA) posts in government and aided high schools. While the posts will be created in high schools having three and four divisions, appointments to these will be made on a contract/daily wage basis.
The posts have been created as a first step towards implementing a Kerala High Court judgment on a writ petition.
Six posts have been sanctioned for the Commerce batch at the Don Bosco Speech and Hearing Higher Secondary School in Karakundu, Kannur. The Director of General Education has been directed to adopt steps to appoint teachers with special training on daily wage basis in the newly created posts.
Land for school
The government will provide land for the proposed Kendriya Vidyalaya at Thalassery on a 99-year lease agreement for an annual rent of ₹100. A plot of 7.9 acres at Pullyottu in Kathiroor has been identified for the purpose.
The Cabinet also decided to withdraw the restrictions that had been imposed on land sale and transfers in Kainakary North village in Kuttanad taluk, Alappuzha, following suspected irregularities.
