Manipur varsity mulls growth

Imphal, Oct. 14 : Manipur University aspires to grow and chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh has promised to help it become a centre of excellence not only in the Northeast but also in the country.

“The university will have three new departments by the next academic session and the state government will extend all possible help so that the university can grow further and become one of the centres of excellence in the country,” Ibobi Singh said while addressing the 12th convocation of the university today.

The three new departments are the departments of sociology, environment science and forestry, and Korean and Japanese studies. Ibobi Singh also announced that a new faculty for Chinese studies would be introduce in the Twelfth Plan period.

Manipur University, the only one in the state, was affiliated to Delhi’s JN University before it became a full-fledged university in 1980. It became a central university in 2005. It has 30 departments now.

It recently opened a department of Manipuri dance, which the university authorities described as the first step towards opening a cultural complex inside the institute. The department is expected to attract foreign students willing to learn Manipuri dance and culture. A centre for Myanmar studies was also opened recently.

Ibobi Singh expressed satisfaction at the rapid growth of the university over the past five years.

University’s chancellor P.N. Srivastava suggested that the state government should mount pressure on the Centre for further expansion of the university. “The university should work towards becoming a residential one where at least 80 per cent of the teaching and student community can be accommodated. Such a facility will help students in their extra-curricular activities and in better academic pursuit. If the state government puts enough pressure on the Centre, this could become a reality,” he said.

Governor Gurbachan Jagat, who was the chief guest at the function held at the Centenary Hall of the university located at Canchipur in Imphal West, suggested that the university should be a place for gifted students and gifted faculties. “High school education should be skill-oriented so that students can get jobs after finishing high school while higher studies, that is university, should be made available to gifted students, whose abilities can be developed by an equally gifted faculty,” he said.

The governor said students who cannot find jobs would ultimately become parasites in society.