Agartala, August 28: Greater emphasis has been placed on research in the field of higher education, Tripura Higher Education Minister Kishore Barman informed the state Legislative Assembly on Thursday.
Replying to a question raised by MLA Ranjit Das, the minister said various initiatives have been undertaken in colleges to increase students’ interest and participation in science, technology and research.
As part of the implementation of the new curriculum, “College Biotechnology Clubs” have been established to encourage students to pursue modern science and create an environment for innovative thinking and hands-on research.
According to the minister, biotechnology clubs have so far been established in 17 colleges across the state.
He said students are being encouraged to participate in seminars, workshops, lectures, field visits, social surveys, laboratory-based experiments, field studies, electronic technology and desktop publishing projects, as well as visits to industries and other institutions.
Facilities including e-journals, books and research materials have also been made available to introduce undergraduate students to literature reviews and research methodologies.
The minister further informed the House that construction of new science buildings is underway at Netaji Subhash Mahavidyalaya in Udaipur and MBB College. He also said legislation has been enacted with the objective of transforming the Tripura Institute of Technology into a technical university.
Over the past three years, a total of 14,302 students at degree and diploma levels in colleges across the state have participated in various research and innovation activities, the minister said.
₹89.77 Crore Allocated for College Infrastructure
In a separate written reply to a question raised by MLA Sudip Roy Barman, Higher Education Minister Kishore Barman said that a total of ₹89.77 crore had been allocated for infrastructure development in government colleges during the last three financial years.
Of this amount, ₹85.27 crore has been spent so far, he said.
The minister informed the Assembly that new buildings have been constructed at five colleges, laboratories at seven colleges, a library at one college and smart classrooms at 15 colleges.
He added that plans have been made to construct new buildings in the next financial year at Rabindranath Tagore Mahavidyalaya in Bishalgarh, Michael Madhusudan Dutta College in Sabroom, Swami Vivekananda Mahavidyalaya in Mohanpur, Ambedkar College in Fatikroy, Adwaita Mallabarman Smriti Mahavidyalaya in Kamalpur, Bir Bikram Memorial College in Agartala, Dasharath Deb Memorial College in Khowai and Government Degree College in Kakraban.
41 Government Colleges in Tripura
In another written reply to a question from MLA Ashok Chandra Mitra, the minister said there are currently 41 government colleges under the Higher Education Department in Tripura.
These include 29 general degree colleges, five professional colleges, six polytechnic institutes and one technical college.
The total number of students enrolled in these institutions currently stands at 69,677, the minister informed the House.
