Now Reading: ICT, COEP excluded from Rs 4,200 crore World Bank education project
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ICT, COEP excluded from Rs 4,200 crore World Bank education project
For the first time in 24 years, the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) in Matunga and Pune's COEP Technological University have been excluded from a central government-World Bank funding initiative. The MERITE…
For the first time in 24 years, the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) in Matunga and Pune's COEP Technological University have been excluded from a central government-World Bank funding initiative. The MERITE project, a Rs 4,200 crore scheme with Rs 2,100 crore in World Bank loan assistance, runs from 2025 for five years and is expected to benefit 7.5 lakh students across 275 institutions. Both ICT and COEP had received funding under the earlier TEQIP programme in all its phases.
Maharashtra has about 23 engineering institutions in the scheme, including VJTI, BATU and Walchand, but ICT and COEP were omitted. A state official said no explanation was given, and the Centre may have excluded unitary universities, those without affiliated colleges. ICT had recently considered giving up its deemed status to qualify for government funding but dropped the plan after faculty and alumni opposed it. The excluded institutes plan to make a representation to the Centre seeking inclusion.
Indian Opinion Analysis
ICT and COEP were consistent beneficiaries under the three phases of TEQIP, which ran from 2002 to 2021 and disbursed Rs 18 crore to Rs 25 crore per institute in the later phases. The switch to the MERITE framework, which pools central and World Bank funds into a single Rs 4,200 crore pot, allowed the Centre to redefine eligibility criteria without prior consultation with states. Unitary universities, those without affiliated colleges, were silently dropped from the list, a category that includes ICT (deemed university since 2008) and COEP (technical university since 2022). Maharashtra now has only about 23 of the 275 national beneficiaries, mostly affiliating universities. The excluded institutes will submit a representation to the ministry of education, the ministry's response will determine whether the cuts are final or a mid-course revision is possible before the first disbursement in 2025.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
