SAARC University to start functioning in New Delhi by August

Ajay Kaul

Thimphu, Apr 27 (PTI) As the ambitious SAARC
University is set to start functioning in New Delhi in over
three months, India has asserted that there will be no
discrimination in visas against any student from any country,
including those from Pakistan although police reporting would
be a must.
Sources in the Indian government said visas will be
facilitated in a timely manner to ensure that any student who
gets admission is able to join the classes without any delay.
The University, intended to be state-of-excellence,
will start functioning in August at a temporary premises in
New Delhi.
The campus of the university is to be set up by 2014,
for which land is being acquired in Mehrauli in South Delhi.
Rules, regulations and procedures for admissions etc
will be unveiled at the two-day South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit beginning here Wednesday,
which will be attended by India's Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh.
Students from all the eight member countries of SAARC
will be eligible to enroll for the university, which will
initially accommodate around 4,000 students and later the
number would go up to 7,000.
"Granting of visas will be easy and within a
time-line, keeping in view the start of sessions," a source
told PTI.
Visas will be granted after proper checking of
antecedents of the prospective students, the sources said.
However, reporting to police would be a must for
students from all countries as it is required for anyone
coming to India to stay for over six months, they emphasised.
Pakistan had reportedly objected recently to the
requirement of police reporting.
The University will have a faculty of 500.
At least half of the students would be from India and
the rest of the seats would be divided among other seven
countries on pro-rata basis depending on criteria like
population etc.
However, the minimum allocation of seats for each
country would be four per cent.
Climate change will be the main theme of the upcoming
SAARC Summit to be held in Bhutan where the member countries
are expected to sign a convention on cooperation in protection
of environment.
Initiatives for mountains and low-lying coastal areas
would also be discussed at the meet of India, Pakistan, Nepal,
Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. PTI
AKK