From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Jul 12: All arrangements are being made for reopening of colleges and commencement of physical classes and a decision on reopening will be taken after all the students are vaccinated, Deputy Chief Minister and Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters in Hubballi, Dr Narayan, who is also the State Covid Task Force Chief, said vaccination of students, teaching and non-teaching staff of colleges is underway and going on in full swing.

The Deputy Chief Minister admitted that there were problems for reopening of colleges. But the situation cannot be allowed to continue and the colleges must start having physical classes.

“Life and livelihood should go together,’’ he said making it clear that all the eligible people must be vaccinated as early as possible as vaccination is the only viable answer for tackling the Covid pandemic.

At the same time, he said the State Government was gearing itself to face the possible third wave. Vaccination and strengthening off the health infrastructure are being carried out, he said pointing out that as many as 6,000 ICU beds have been arranged for treating the Covid infected people.

The State Government has been taking steps for appointing doctors, nurses and group D employees. As many as 2,000 doctors are now being appointed, he said.

Answering questions on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath government’s moves to restrict the government benefits only to families with two children, Dr Narayan said steps are necessary to curb the population growth.

He, however, did not answer questions whether Karnataka will be adopting similar steps.

Priority for Hubballi region under Beyond Bengaluru

The Deputy Chief Minister said the Hubballi region will get priority as a prominent hub under the ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ initiative.

Dr Narayan, who also holds the IT/BT and S&T portfolio, said several industries have already been set up in the region under ESDM (Electronic System Designing and Manufacturing) policy of the State Government.

“Beyond Bengaluru” initiative focuses on industrial development of regions outside Bengaluru, KDEM (Karnataka Digital Economy Mission) will facilitate to attract investment for the enterprises which support digital economy and artificial intelligence will be used in a big way in the technological development, Dr Narayan explained.

Hubballi region has not been left behind with regard to industrial development and generation of employment. But, at certain times there will some bottlenecks depending on the varied market situations. But, prominent institutions located in the region including Infosys, Deshapande Foundation and IIT will certainly influence the industrial ecosystem of the region in a larger way, he said.

NEP will be fully implemented by 2023

Dr Narayan, who visited the Dharwad Regional Science Centre later, said the National Education Policy 2020 will be implemented in government colleges from this year and in the entire State completely by 2023.

He held discussions with the Education Experts at Dharwad University on the implementation of the National Education Policy and said the State Government will extend its fully support for colleges coming forward to implement NEP.

NEP will be implement in government higher education institutions by making use of LMS (learning manage system) and Unified University College Management System (UUCMS).

Private colleges which have good infrastructure should come forward to implement NEP from the current year itself. Other institutions should also get ready to implement this in a gradual manner, Dr Narayan suggested.

NEP aims to integrate various capabilities of the human intellect. It aspires to provide global exposure to the students even as it wishes to make them aware of the roots of the Indian tradition, he explained.

Prof Gudasi, Vice-Chancellor, Karnataka University, Dr Thimmegowda, Vice-Chairperson, State Higher Education Council, Prof Sankanuru, MLC, Dr Eshwar Bhat and representatives from several institutions were present.