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India Seeks Help From Britain in Opening World-Class
University
By
Shailaja Neelakantan/NEW DELHI
Issue
cover-dated May 28, 2008
New Delhi — India has asked Britain
for help in setting up a world-class central university in what
one local newspaper reported is the first such request for foreign
assistance in almost 50 years. India has not asked for foreign
help to establish a university since it sought assistance in
the late 1950s and early 1960s from the Soviet Union, Britain,
and West Germany to create some of the older Indian Institutes
of Technology, the newspaper, The Telegraph, said.
Last year India’s prime minister announced
that the country would set up 14 world-class central universities
to compete with institutions like Harvard and Cambridge. The
locations of the universities were announced in March.
“We want the help in the form of skill development, faculty
support, and necessary training,” said D. Purandeswari, India’s
junior higher-education minister, according to a statement issued
after meetings this week with Bill Rammell, Britain’s higher-education
minister.
Indian officials were looking to settle
details of the collaboration as soon as possible because the
new academic session in India starts in July, but Mr. Rammell
did not commit to any timeline. Further talks to iron out the
details are scheduled to be held in July in London.
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