The Hindu Business Line : `Mainstream varsities must develop links with diploma institutions'

MAINSTREAM educational institutions such as colleges and universities should develop closer links with `paraformal' institutions offering diploma courses to increase the numbers of technically qualified people, according to Professor S.P. Thyagarajan, Vice-Chancellor, University of Madras.

The educational system was moving towards increasing employability of students and development of entrepreneurship skills. But the employment acceptability of the youth in the 16 - 23 age group was now around 7 per cent and the target was 25 per cent.

Of the 300 million youth in the country needing higher education, only about a third have access to higher education through the 16,000 colleges.

Therefore, institutions such the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) and the conventional academic institutions need to come together to offer education and training, he said at the inaugural of CIPET's corporate centre.

Dr Sushil K. Verma, Director-General, CIPET, said that it has approached the University Grants Commission for being certified as a deemed university.

CIPET has over 3,500 students studying courses needed for the plastic and allied industries. There are 12 CIPET centres across the country and three more are to come up in Haryana, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Also, the Sultanate of Oman has evinced interest in setting up a plastics technology and training centre under the administrative control of CIPET, he said.

CIPET's corporate centre built at a cost of Rs 3 crore has a built up area of 2,089 sq. m for training and planning, customer service and business development cells apart from a library, finance and administrative block and the office of the Director-General.

It is connected through a WAN system with the other CIPET centres for monitoring and professional governance.

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