Chandigarh: State Government of Punjab on Friday i.e. February 5, 2010, has made the announcement that it would develop an educational city near Chandigarh. Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister of Punjab said that the educational city would be spread over an area of 2,000 acres near Chandigarh. He has also asked the state's education department to prepare a comprehensive plan for the project.
State government also announced that it is collaborating with a US-based university to set up an international university near the industrial city of Ludhiana, 110 kms away from Chandigarh. The Punjab International University would be set up on 35 acres near Ludhiana, in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. Mr Badal took the decision on Friday at a meeting with the university's chief executive officer Gil Taran. Further, giving in-principle approval to the proposal, Punjab CM assured Mr Taran that the State government within two weeks would clear the entire project.
Further, Mr Taran mentioned that the initial proposal is to have five schools in the university, including engineering and technology, education and teachers' training, applied sciences, humanities and languages and management and business studies. He added that courses to be run would be fully at par with the courses being run on its US campus. Efforts would be made to have degrees awarded by this university to be recognized in the US. Moreover, the cost of education would be a fraction of the cost, which an international student has to pay in the US. Technical courses, keeping in mind needs of the local industry.
