Lok Sabha passes bill to establish Central University in Ladakh amidst protest

Monsoon Session 2021: The new central university in Ladakh will be named Sindhu Central University which will be established at a cost of Rs 750 crores.

Team Careers360 | August 6, 2021 | 01:28 PM IST

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha passed the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2021 to set up a central university in the Union Territory of Ladakh on Friday.

The lower house has amended the Central Universities Act 2009 to set up the new university. The proposed central university will offer degrees in all courses such as liberal arts and basic sciences except engineering and medical education. Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the bill in the lower house on Thursday amidst protest by opposition parties over the Pegasus spying row.

The government will invest Rs 750 crore for the university that aims to correct the “regional imbalances in higher education” and ease education accessibility in the area. According to the statement of objects, the bill seeks to amend the Central Universities Act, 2009, to provide for the establishment of a University in the name of “Sindhu Central University” in Ladakh.

"At present, there is no central university in Ladakh and therefore, the government has decided to establish a new central university there to ensure increase in accessibility and quality of higher education, and to facilitate and promote avenues of higher education and research for the people of the Union territory," the statement of objects further stated.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the proposal for establishing the Central University in Ladakh in the Union Budget 2021. The Union Cabinet had approved the decision in July.

Other than the new university, this region has a state-run University of Ladakh established in 2018 and six existing colleges of Leh and Kargil district are a part of it. The university has campuses in both Kargil and Leh to cater to students passing out of various schools and colleges spread over in the vast Ladakh region.

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