In
a development that may see National Institute of Design (NID) confer degrees in
undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral studies in design, Anand Sharma (Union
minister for industry, commerce and textile) on Wednesday said that the premier
design school will soon be granted status of national centre of excellence by
an act of the Parliament.
Sharma was in Gandhinagar to
inaugurate NID’s new campus for postgraduate courses. This development will put
the institute at par with Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian
Institutes of Management (IIMs) of the country.
“A bill in this regard is being
prepared. I’m told that it will be ready by next week and would be presented to
the union cabinet. NID will soon be declared a centre of excellence,” said
Sharma. He was accompanied by Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC)
president Arjun Modhwadia and other party members.
Sharma also announced that
Centre, as part of its 12th five-year plan, is looking at a proposal to set up
centres for jewellery design, automobile research and design, recreation and a
mess at NID’s Gandhinagar campus, costing the central exchequer Rs 25 crore for
the same.
During his visit, Sharma also
inspected baskets woven by artists from South Africa who were trained at NID.
Speaking about this development,
Director of the institute, Pradyumna Vyas said that granting status of centre
of excellence to NID will help the institute confer bachelors, masters and
doctorates in design to its students.
Currently, it awards
undergraduate degrees and a postgraduate diploma to its students. “Proposal in
this regards is being discussed for past two years. We expect an announcement
soon,” said Vyas.
Also announced were new NIDs at
Hyderabad, Jorhat, Bhopal and Kurukshetra benefiting 2,000 design students
every year.
Source:
DNA News