West Bengal government approved Neotia University bill

Kolkata, Nov 13: In a bid to cater to the growing need of higher education and encourage private investments in the sector, West Bengal government has passed the Neotia University Bill in the Assembly.

However, opposition Left protested the move terming it as nothing but commercialisation of the education system. The university is all set to come up in Diamond Harbour area of South 24 Parganas district. State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said in the Assembly that the main objective of the state government is to stop the brain drain from the state.

"As per the vision of our chief minister Mamata Banerjee, brain drain from Bengal needs to be checked. Brilliant students from our state are leaving Bengal and going to other states to study in private universities," Chatterjee said.

Chatterjee also countered the charge about commercialisation of education by saying that it was during the Left that private engineering colleges had come up. Chatterjee said that the university shall keep five per cent of the total intake reserved for filling up with economically weaker section.

PTI