Jharkhand to set up defence varsity

RANCHI: The state government is planning to set up a defence university in Jharkhand to prepare and train young men and women who aspire to join the defence sector, revealed chief minister Raghubar Das during the ongoing budget session of the assembly on Tuesday. "The university will be unique. It will provide solid physical training besides education which would aid young boys and girls who aspire to join the (defence) forces," Das announced before the House during the question hour.
"Today, the aspirants get into the force within six months to one year of physical training. The university will contribute to the holistic development of aspirants," Das explained amid applause from the treasury bench. He also said that the university will provide three-year degree courses to high school pass outs very much like any other varsity. However, the CM did not clear the air over the possible location and faculty of the institution. A BJP MLA claimed that the idea was still in its incubating stage. "The details will be chalked out with time," he said.
However, the state government was cornered by the opposition over the shortage of skilled labors in the state. "The government is focused on converting the state into an industrial hotspot, which needs good engineers and skilled technicians. Technical colleges though here are not being able to fill its seats," claimed Radha Krishna Kishore, BJP MLA from Chattarpur.
Saryu Rai, minister of parliamentary affairs admitted that the technical colleges in the state are not being able to fill up all their berths. Rai attributed the problem to the faulty counselling system, which is time consuming and tedious. "The phases of counselling have long gaps in between which prompt students to move outside the state. We will address the issue in coming days," Rai said before the House.
Rai also said that the legwork for commissioning a technical university in Palamu has entered its final stages. "The inspection of the land for the university has already been completed. Though the land belongs to state water resources department, it is not used by them and hence there is no problem in moving forward," Rai said. The minister also said another technical university will be set up in Chotanagpur region, for which the process has already begun.