GOVT PLANS 3 NEW AMBEDKAR VARSITY CAMPUSES BY 2019

NEW DELHI: In its effort to create more options for higher studies, the Delhi government plans to start three new campuses of Ambedkar University by 2019.

The government had initially promised to start 20 new colleges in Delhi but later decided to expand AUD and other institutes under it.

Atishi Marlena, advisor to education minister Manish Sisdoia, said Delhi University is the only affiliating university in the Capital and Indraprastha University was given a one-time permission. So there is no other university that can affiliate new colleges.

“Even if we start a new college under DU, we will have no quality control over it as it will be under the HRD ministry,” she said. She said it is difficult to start a new college and so the government is expanding AUD and other institutes by increasing the number of seats in undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

“When we say 20 new colleges, it means more students getting into a university. AUD has started its Karampura campus with four undergraduate courses having 225 seats,” she said.

Marlena said new disciplines will be launched this year. “The School of Vocational Studies and School of Law Governance and Citizenship will begin this year,” she said. The plan is to have five campuses for AUD in Delhi by 2019. “In total, we plan to create 17,350 seats for higher education courses,” Marlena said. Delhi Technological University’s (DTU) Rohini campus, which has 8,000 seats, will be expanded to admit 12,000 students every year. “It will be finalized by 2018 but this year a campus will be started in East Delhi with 2,000 seats,” said an official.