GNDU senate meeting held; members suggested further upliftment of the university
Gurpreet Kaur/ royalpatiala.in
Prof. Dr. Jaspal Singh Sandhu, Vice Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University reiterated that the university is fully committed to implement the national education policy-2020. He added that under this policy, four-year courses of bachelor degree would be introduced in the college He said that online courses of Punjabi language will also be introduced soon. He was addressing the Senate meeting of the Guru Nanak Dev University. The meeting was presided over by Prof. Sandhu in the presence of Cabinet Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, member of the Senate, Bhagwant Pal Singh Sachar, Senate Member, Satnam Manak, Prominent journalist and the newly appointed member of the Senate of the University.
Prof. Behl, Dean Academic Affairs presented a report about development of the University while the Prof. K. Kahlon presented the agenda and said that under the recommendations of the Foreign/NRI Student Advisory Committee, an International Student Cell will be setup to deal with admissions and other formalities of foreign students as per the guidelines of ICCR.
Welcoming the newly appointed Senate Members, Vice Chancellor Prof. Jaspal Singh Sandhu said that Guru Nanak Dev University has enrolled 35% more students than in previous years even in the COVID condition He appealed to the Cabinet Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa to release the funds committed by the Punjab Government to the University. While praising the performance of Guru Nanak Dev University in the last three years, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa expressed his satisfaction and said that funds will be released soon. Bhagwant Pal Singh Sachar, Prominent journalist, Satnam Manak and other newly appointed senate members lauded the works done by the University and gave important suggestions for further upliftment of the University in the field of higher education.
In the development report, Prof. Behl shared the achievements of the last three years and said that under the able leadership of Vice Chancellor Prof. Sandhu, Guru Nanak Dev University has become one of the leading university not in North India but also in the country and abroad in the field of research and higher education besides sports, culture and environment etc. Highlighting the achievements of the last three years as well as the major works to be undertaken in 2021, he said that the Interfaith Study Center designed by the Architecture Department of the University would be set up with a cost of Rs 432 crore. It was announced by the Government of India on the 550th Prakash Purab of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji. The first instalment of R 175 crore has been received by the University.
While giving the details about Interfaith Study Centre he said that this project would be the center of research activities on all religion In this project, a Symphony of Religious Music will also be a main attraction for the tourists of Amritsar. He said that apart from dividing the Interfaith Center into eight departments, a directorate office, a museum and a panorama, a library and a guest house would also be set up. Giving information about eight departments, he said that Division of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Languages; Division of Divine Music; Division of Comparative Religions; Division of Conflict Resolution; Center for Reconstruction of Ancient Musical Instruments; Division of Study on Travels of Guru Nanak Dev Ji; Division of Archives and Division of Theology are included.
He said that various grants has been sanctioned to the University which includes R 107 crore for enhancement of quality and excellence in universities; R 2 crore for Digital Library by the Department of Higher Education, Government of Punjab; R 25 crore for MYAS-GNDU Center for Sports Sciences and Medicine; R 11.90 crore under Khelo India and R17.05 for promotion of University research and scientific excellence under DST PURSE. The grants under Faculty Development Center, FIST Program, School of Education, Botanical Garden, B.R. Ambedkar Chair and Women’s Hostel are also sanctioned by various agencies.
Prof. Sandhu thanked the Senate members and invited all to play a pro-active role in the further progress of the University. The members of the Senate appreciated the various development activities undertaken and offered for help for furthermore development of the University. The members also presented their views and suggestions
January 8,2021
