Bengal set to get its first Hindi university
The proposed university would come up in Shibpur
Kolkata: The State is all set to get its first Hindi university after the Assembly passed the Hindi University, West Bengal Bill, 2019, on Thursday.
The university would come up in Howrah's Shibpur where various courses at the undergraduate level would be taught.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had laid the foundation stone of the university on March 6 at a programme in Howrah. Banerjee in the Assembly on Thursday urged the Higher Education department to start the construction works soon.
The Chief Minister also told the House that another university is coming up in Jhargram and also a separate university for Santhali speaking people.
The passing of the Bill to pave the way for constructing a dedicated university for Hindi speaking people is significant as it was done on the Teachers' Day, said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Banerjee.
"Today is a historical day. The Hindi University, West Bengal Bill, 2019 was passed in the Assembly. I express my gratitude to all the teachers who are building our nation. The university will open new dimension in the field of education. We have already set up 31 universities and some others are coming up. Around 50 colleges have been constructed and 60,000 new schools have been opened. The child drop our rate in the state has gone down significantly after the Kanyashree project was launched," Banerjee said in the Assembly.
Chief Minister said that the name of the Hindi university will be decided later. The land has already been required in Howrah.
It may be mentioned here that CPI-M MLA Sujan Chakraborty sought an amendment to the Bill so that the university can be named after noted Hindi author Munshi Premchand.
The state government felt the need of setting a Hindi University in Howrah as it found that a large number of Hindi speaking people from various parts of the country had concentrated on either sides of Hooghly River.
Speaking on the occasion state Education minister Partha Chatterjee announced that a regional centre of the Hindi university will be set up in Jalpaiguri and Asansol each so that Hindi speaking people in those areas can avail the facilities extended by the proposed university.
Chatterjee also criticised the erstwhile Left Front government for not taking any initiative in this regard.