Thaindian News

Chandigarh, July 24 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Tuesday asked the management of Thapar University in Patiala to continue with the existing norm to provide 50 percent quota for students hailing from the state.

He warned that any departure from these rules would not be tolerated at any cost. Badal said this at a meeting of the Board of Governors (BOG) of Thapar Educational Trust held here Tuesday.

The chief minister said the Thapar University, a leading institution of technical education in the region, was bound to abide by the stipulated rules on provision of 50 percent quota to the students from the state.

Badal said the abolition of quota by Thapar University would tantamount to “betrayal with Punjab which would never ever be accepted by the state government and the people of Punjab”, said a spokesman here.

He said that, due to the sheer magnanimity on the part of the state government, Thapar University was provided 250 acre of land, coupled with financial assistance worth Rs.30 lakh, for the establishment of the earlier Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology (now Thapar University) in 1956.

He said that the institution was getting uninterrupted grant-in-aid till the year 2001 from the government.

“The present value of this prime 250 acre of land is around Rs.1,500 crore,” added Badal.

He lamented that the quota for the students of the state, which was once 90 percent in the institutions, has been drastically tapered off to a meagre 50 percent, which was complete injustice to students of the state.

On the apprehensions of the representatives of the university that continuing of 50 percent quota was resulting in poor quality of students getting admission in the institution, Badal asked them to start 10+2 classes and special coaching classes for students from Punjab to act as a nursery to attract the best talent to their institution.

Thapar University, located at Patiala, 150 km from here, had in February this year announced its decision to abolish the 50 per cent quota for Punjab students.

The university claimed that it had done so in accordance with University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines. It took back the decision May this year following pressure from the Punjab government.