New Delhi: Human Resource Development (HRD), Minister Kapil Sibal said the government is open to the idea of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) opening their branches abroad. According to Sibal, the government is not opposed to IITs opening their branches outside of India.
As per sources, the Ministry had earlier said that it may not be immediately possible for the IITs, the premier engineering institutions of the nation, to open campuses abroad. This is mainly because they are facing faculty shortages and have to undertake 54 percent expansion in their intake to implement an Other Backward Class (OBC) quota.
Mr Sibal, while speaking at a Singapore Symposium, said both India and Singapore would cooperate in setting up 14 innovation universities in India. He also mentioned that India needs modern universities, to bridge the huge skill shortage gap, and that Singapore can be the best country to partner with in this area. Infrastructure, education, and skill development are the potential areas of cooperation between the two countries. Further, India has very recently initiated steps to reform the education sector, and positive results are expected by 2014.
