State to get two world class education hubs

State to get two world class education hubs

November 30th, 2010

DC Correspondent

Nov. 29: The education sector is set to receive a heavy flow of investment as if things go according to plan, the state will develop two education hubs; one at Chikkaballapur and another at Dharward, and the institutions will be set up with an initial investment of Rs 1,475crore.

According to senior officials of the department of higher education, “The Chennai-based Marg Group has been granted permission to set up the education hub at Dharwad, while the Manipal-based MAHE University will develop a world-class multi disciplinary global education campus at Doddaballapur in Chikkaballapur district.

The State High Level Clearance Committee (SHLC) has cleared both projects.” In fact, for the first time, the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) will allot land for the two institutions to be set up. Just recently, educational institutions had appealed to the state government asking it for land to develop new campuses.

According to sources, the Marg group will invest Rs 980 crore for the proposed education hub at Dharward, which is expected to create 2,690 employment opportunities and the KIADB will distribute 100 acres of land for the purpose.

“According to the proposal, this education hub will accommodate a number of educational institutions under one roof. It is a first-of-its-kind experiment in the state and nobody has invested such a large sum of money to build a campus,” said the sources.

Meanwhile, the MAHE University is making an initial investment of Rs 495 crore for the hub at Doddaballapur taluk, and the KIADB will allot 60 acres of land for this purpose.

Mr Rajesh H. Rao, an overseas education consultant, said that the proposed education hubs are expected to be the country’s answer to the fear of foreign investments in the education sector. “The education sector has a lot of scope for investment. Such big investments and exclusive hubs help institutes share an understanding with prestigious institutes from foreign countries while providing quality education to our students,” said Mr Rao.