Central university campus to come up this year, says Smriti

The spotlight was on the issue of land for the Central University Himachal Pradesh (CUHP) during the visit of Union Minister for HRD Smriti Irani to Kangra district today.
The minister was in Kangra to preside over the third convocation of the CUHP in the auditorium hall of the Tanda medical college
In her address to students, the minister said the institute would have its permanent campus this academic year. For that, the state government would have to provide a suitable piece of land.
However, later while addressing BJP workers at a community centre in Dharamsala, she said it was unfortunate that the state government had erected a board for location of the CUHP campus in Jadrangal near Chamunda Devi temple.
The minister said the Central government was trying to get a statue of Aryabhatta, a scholar who is credited with inventing zero, installed at UNESCO headquarters in France.
Besides, the government was planning a global conference on mathematics to bring to the fore the country’s rich heritage. She asked the students and faculty members of the CUHP to send proposals to the ministry regarding the theme of the proposed conference on mathematics.
The minister also endorsed the idea of the VC of the CUHP Kuldeep Agnihotri to start a school for research on yoga and wellness. She said if such a school came up in the CUHP campus it can attract students from across the world.
The minister praised the CUHP for running professional postgraduate courses in industrial mathematics and theoretical physics. She said other Central universities would be asked to follow the CUHP.
Interestingly, the post-graduation in theoretical physics was started by the CUHP as it did not have enough space to set up laboratories on its temporary campus at Shahpur.
The minister also praised the CUHP offering Hindi as a medium for examinations, besides English. “I will ask all Central universities to provide Hindi and other regional languages as medium for examination to students,” she said.
The minister lamented that there were very few students in the education department of the CUHP. The country needed teachers and the students passing out of Central universities to opt for teaching as a career.
Chancellor of the CUHP Arun Maira, speaking on the occasion, stressed the need for a permanent campus for the institute. He said despite the handicap of being run from a temporary campus, the CUHP had excelled in various fields.
VC Kuldeep Agnihotri informed the minister that the university was planning a research centre on yoga. The varsity had started a postgraduate course in Sanskrit, a diploma course in Gojjari language and offered Hindi as a medium of language to the students for examination.
Smriti Irani awarded degrees and medals to the students who topped in their respective courses.