Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 18 (IANS) Kerala is ready to set up a university for non-resident Indians (NRIs), Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan Tuesday informed the Kerala assembly.
“We are keen to have it in our state and I assure you that we will provide all necessary infrastructure, and if needed we will give it for free,” said Achuthanandan in response to Congress legislator M. Murali who raised the issue.
Murali urged the house that Kerala should take the lead in setting up an NRI university since the largest number of expatriates was from Kerala.
Incidentally, this is the first time Kerala has come forward to set up a university for non-resident Indians. Other southern states have already pitched in for this.
The proposed university would be a deemed university with 50 per cent of the seats to be reserved for children of NRIs and the remaining seats for Indian residents.
According to the guidelines, the institute should be run by a trust formed in India and the state government should allot it the required land. A reputed educational institute functioning abroad would handle the overall management.
The Union Cabinet recently cleared the proposal under the University Grants Commission Act, and decided the university would be located in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
The university would be a boon for Indians living abroad. Students from nearly 130 countries, particularly in the developing world, where educational facilities are either not available or are limited, look up to India for their higher educational needs.