Pot Blair, Dec. 21: Shri Kuldeep Rai Sharma, Member of Parliament, A&N Islands has demanded for a Central University in Andaman & Nicobar Islands for which he has moved a private member’s bill in the Parliament on 9-12-2022 (Friday).

Sharma said that the Islands have a literacy rate of 86.27% which is higher than the National average of 74.04%. With such a high rate of literacy it is imperative that the Islands must have a central university to provide quality secondary education to its bright young population.

This will also create greater job specialization and aid in the carrying out of quality research. Shri Sharma highlighted that presently, the institutions of higher education in the Islands are affiliated to the Puducherry Central University.

Increase in the number of higher educational institutions from the lone Jawaharlal Nehru Rajkeeya Mahavidyalaya (JNRM) to three degree colleges, one medical college, one engineering college, two polytechnic, two ITIs, one law college, one B.Ed. college, one DIET, one vocational training institute, one department of ocean studies and marine biology, one department of coastal disaster management, one nursing, one ANM in which more than 3059 students pass every year, which has necessitated the need to have a separate Central University for Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

He emphasized that the absence of a full-fledged University in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands is depriving the local students belonging to poor or marginalized sections of the society since they have very limited higher educational opportunities in the Islands and have to travel to mainland for higher education purpose which is a costly affair and difficult to bear.

In order to realize the true potential of students of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, there is an eminent requirement to establish a Central University in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

According to Sharma, a Central University is necessary to revolutionize Higher Education and to provide a level playing field to the students of the Islands in comparison with other Union Territories like Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Delhi, Puducherry, Chandigarh who have their own Universities.

The Central University will enable the introduction of several new courses in the field of Marine Biology, Forest, Fisheries, Tribal Culture, Environment and many others. This will also facilitate socioeconomic development of the A&N Islands and will also generate more employment opportunities for the Islanders.

The MP from A&N further pointed out that Central University will provide employment to the local youths including tribals but this Central University will create an educational hub in the Islands, which will also generate revenue as the Islands will soon be open to South Eastern Asian countries. Students from South East Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Myanmar (Burma) will come to Andaman & Nicobar Islands for higher education.