Vidyarthi Prathibha awards distributed

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan warns against attempts to discredit Kerala's achievements in higher education, announces funding for infrastructure development.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has raised caution against conscious attempts allegedly being made by various quarters to discredit the achievements attained by the State in higher education.

While refraining from taking names, he also accused certain sections of doggedly pursuing various means to scuttle progress in the sector for vested interests.

He was speaking while inaugurating a ceremony to distribute the Chief Minister’s Vidyarthi Prathibha Awards for 2021-22 here on Thursday.

Elaborating on the government’s commitment towards modernising the higher education sector, Mr. Vijayan said projects worth ₹700 crore have been sanctioned through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) for infrastructure development and academic progress. Other projects worth ₹750 crore are also in the pipeline, he added.

The government had allocated over ₹6,000 crore for the higher education sector during the last seven years. Besides, as many as 131 degree programmes were sanctioned. Nod has also been given to launch six private colleges and an aided college during the period.

Citing the high National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) grading obtained by various universities, the Chief Minister claimed the government’s efforts to raise the standards of higher education in Kerala have begun to yield results.

The awards, comprising a purse of ₹1 lakh and a citation, were presented to 1,000 meritorious students from economically disadvantaged families who have graduated from various universities.