Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said his Government has decided to set up a job-oriented 'Skills and Entrepreneurship University' in the city. A Bill will be brought in the Delhi Assembly for the university with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor, he said.
"Unemployment is very high in the country and our youth is worried that despite securing degrees like BA, B.Sc. and B.Com in the formal education system, they are still unable to find jobs. The main focus of the DSE University will be to make the students employable and the performance of the university will be measured in terms of the kinds of jobs that the students get", said Kejriwal.
"The initial intake of the University will be 50,000 students, who will be enrolled in regular and part-time courses in various streams. Students who complete Class X, Class XII, and Graduation can join the University for courses ranging from durations like 6 months, 1 year, 2 years and so on. "The new University will provide a guarantee for jobs to the students who graduate from here, " said the chief minister.
"All ITI, Polytechnic Institutes and Skill Centers will be merged into this University. We will collaborate with many foreign countries and universities. The skill centers at Vivek Vihar and Jonapur have tied up with institutions in Singapore and the Vivek Vihar center has almost 100 per cent placement. Similarly, the new university will have collaborations with several foreign institutions," he added.
"In addition, there will be collaborations with industry associations and companies. If any company agrees to provide jobs to the students, then training will be provided to students based on the requirements of the company by this University. The most important feature of this university shall be flexibility because the market requirements always keep changing. Various Governments have made skill centers but those centers do not adapt to the requirements of the market. Courses once designed will remain for 25 to 30 years without any revision or upgradation. The University will design courses after taking into consideration the relevant market research," he added.
The Chief Minister said that he expects the legislative framework for the University will be passed by the Delhi Assembly in the upcoming winter session, before which the Bill will have to be approved by the Lieutenant Governor. "From the day we get the L-G's nod, we expect to launch this University in one year," said Kejriwal.
The decision to set up the university was taken in a meeting of the Delhi Cabinet chaired by the chief minister. The university will have an intake capacity of 50,000 students and it will collaborate with foreign countries, industry associations and companies, Kejriwal said.