Government plans workers’ university

Urmi A Goswami NEW DELHI
THE INDUSTRY will have to contribute financially if it wants workers whose skills match its needs. The government is considering setting up a Workers’ Technical University that will ensure that India’s working population is able to meet the rapidly changing needs of the industry. The university will require a capital expenditure of Rs 500 crore to be set up, and Rs 100 crore annually after that. It has been proposed that trade unions, large, medium, and small industries and government all help fund the university. A four-member committee headed by G Sanjeeva Reddy, president of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), submitted a feasibility report to the human resource development ministry in early May. On Friday, Dr Reddy met with HRD minister Arjun Singh, UGC chairman, AICTE chairman and ministry officials to discuss a roadmap for the proposed university. The university will not depend on just the government for its funding. One idea being toyed with is that trade unions commit 2% of wages, while large industrial enterprises will contribute 2% of their profit annually towards the university. Medium enterprises will required to give 1.5% of their profits, while small enterprises will allocate 0.5% of their profits annually to the university coffers. For this to be feasible idea, considerable finetuning would be required in terms of which industrial sectors would benefit and hence, contribute. Collecting a percentage of wages and profits would amount to an increase in tax rates. On the issue of management, the Reddy committee has suggested that the technical university could be managed by trustees comprising worker’s representatives. The committee has proposed that the university be based in Hyderabad with 13 regional centres and the entire network is expected to cater to nearly 3 lakh workers and students a year. Linkages with industrial and technical institutes (ITIs) will also need to be developed.


source: The Economic Times