The minister was visiting the university after a weeklong strike by the students in June to highlight the problems they were facing.
Published Sep 26, 2022 | 5:41 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 26, 2022 | 7:09 PM
KTR with students of IIIT Basara. (Supplied)
The Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT), also known as IIIT Basara, is finally getting what is its due.
Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao, who visited the institution on Monday, 26 September, along with Education Minister P Sabita Indra Reddy, announced several measures to give a facelift to the much-neglected university that offers six-year integrated engineering courses.
KTR’s promises included starting an innovation hub on campus, distribution of laptops to all the students, a mini stadium on the campus for outdoor sports at an investment of ₹3 crore, and 50 additional classroom buildings.
He promised to distribute laptops in November and the stadium within the next six months.
The minister was visiting the university after the students went on a peaceful strike for a week in June to draw the attention of the government to the problems they were facing.
KTR having a meal with IIIT Basara students. (Supplied)
The problems pertained chiefly to poor-quality food served in the hostels, distribution of laptops, and better living conditions in the hostels.
The minister, after arrival at the campus, spent a major part of his time with the students, learning from them their problems firsthand.
The students brought to his notice that the quality of instruction was low in physics, and sought the introduction of courses in new-age technologies like IoT, AI, drone technologies, and machine learning.
The minister, while addressing the students, did not hide his displeasure over they being made to squat on the floor, and asked Vice-Chancellor V Venkata Ramana to see that the next time he visited the university, the auditorium had chairs fixed to the floor for the students to sit.
The minister also asked the vice chancellor to take steps so that a cesspool near the approach to one of the hostels was cleared as there was a likelihood of mosquitoes breeding there.
He found fault with the carpentry in one of the bathrooms in the canteen and wanted to know why the doors were not shutting properly. He asked the vice-chancellor to see that the food being served was of good quality.
The minister, in his pep talk with the students, tried to inspire them to become entrepreneurs and provide employment to others rather than ending up working under someone.
He stressed the need for innovation, and wanted the students to come up with ideas that could make life easier.
“An innovation need not be a revolutionary one. A small contraption that lessens the human burden could be a great achievement,” he said
KTR also asked the students to rise to the level where they would come up with the products that would rule the world, like Google and Facebook.
Though the products that are world leaders may not be all that difficult to make, none of their creators was an Indian, he said, urging the students to focus their attention on this area.
