Govt universities to be strengthened, vacant posts to be filled soon: CM Chandrababu Naidu

Amaravathi (Andhra Pradesh) [India], September 24 (ANI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said on Tuesday that all the state universities will be strengthened and all vacant posts will be filled soon.

CM Naidu held a review meeting on Tuesday at the State Secretariat on Higher Education, during which he expressed serious concern that due to the inefficient policies of the previous government and neglect of higher education, the entire academic sector has gone off track.

Stressing the need to bring the academic sector back on track and achieve positive results, the Chief Minister directed the officials to take up small-term and long-term programmes besides focussing on strengthening the public universities.

“At the same time, national and international-level private universities too should be encouraged, following which job opportunities will go up in the academic sector,” he said.

He told the officials to immediately take measures to resolve all legal tangles in filling up the backlog posts and issue notification.

“The officials should work out plans to correct the mistakes so that the public universities can achieve national and international ranks,” CM Naidu added.

The Andhra Pradesh CM also mentioned that a specialist’s committee be formed that can visit national and international universities to study the ongoing standards and recommend the change of courses and curriculum as per the changing trends. “Depending on their report, the curriculum can be changed next academic year itself,” he said.

“University convocations should be organised on a massive scale through which the students should get inspiration,” the Chief Minister added.

When the officials informed the Chief Minister that the existing gross enrolment ratio is 36 percent and the target is set at 60 percent by 2029, CM Chandrababu suggested that the students certificates be interlinked with Aadhar and should be added to the digital locker before November.

CM Naidu further told the officials to examine the matter of issuing a joint degree certificate to the students by interlinking with foreign universities. He gave his consent for the proposal to bring in a single legislation replacing all the eight existing laws and also suggested that noted industrialists can be appointed as chairpersons of the Board of Governance, which is now existing in IITs and IIMs.

He also highlighted that if the teaching posts are vacant, quality education cannot be imparted and thus told the officials to immediately issue notification to fill these posts.

CM Chandrababu Naidu also decided to establish an artificial intelligence (AI) university on a public-private participation (PPP) basis and told the officials to see to it that the proposed Sports Village in Amaravathi should be with global standards.