Apart from setting aside ₹500 crore for improving the infrastructure of government schools in the State, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the State Government will provide free online coaching for National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) to students aspiring for admission to medical and engineering courses respectively.
This comes amidst concerns over NEET being inaccessible to State students, amidst the Ukraine crisis and many medical students being stuck there. It is argued that many are forced to study abroad because they are unable to secure seats locally.
Mr Bommai announced the “Mukhyamantri Vidyarthi Margadarshini” scheme for free coaching through online platform for not only NEET and JEE, but also a host of other competitive exams like those conducted by Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC), Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Common Defence Services (CDS), besides exams conducted for recruitment to banks and railways.
While promising to provide coaching for NEET in all taluks, Mr. Bommai said the State Government will facilitate loans from banks to poor students securing admission under government quota seats in government and private medical colleges. Also, he said the private medical colleges will be categorised into A, B, C, and D categories and fees would be fixed through a Fee Regulation Committee.
Engineering education
Mr. Bommai also announced that seven engineering colleges in the State will be upgraded as Karnataka Institute of Technology (KIT) on the lines of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
The engineering colleges upgraded into KITs will enter into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with foreign universities, he said, while adding that KITs will serve to promote quality of teaching and learning modules, besides promoting research in the field of technological education.
New universities
The Chief Minister also announced the setting of up seven new universities in educationally backward areas of Chamarajanagar, Bidar, Haveri, Hassan, Kodagu, Koppal, and Bagalkot.
However, he said the new “model” universities will be different from the conventional ones in supervising the colleges as they will maximize use of Information Technology without requiring additional manpower. “The facilities available in PG centres will be utilised by these universities and the annual recurring expenditure would be ₹2 crore each,” Mr. Bommai said.
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