The Lok Sabha on Friday passed an amendment bill to accord degree-granting powers to the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Raichur and four other IIITs set up in the public-private-partnership (PPP) model.
The Indian Institute of Information Technology Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which also seeks to grant the 'Institute of National Importance' tag to these five technical institutes, was passed by the Lower House by voice vote after a debate.
The government will now take the bill to Rajya sabha for its consideration and passage.
Along with the IIIT in Raichur, the IIITs set up in Surat, Bhopal, Bhagalpur, and Agartala will get degree-granting powers and 'Institute of National Importance' tag once the Bill gets Rajya Sabha nod.
The passage of the amendment bill will enable the five institutes to attract "enough students" required to develop a strong research base in the country in the field of information technology, the government hopes.
Replying to a debate on the Bill, Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Ramesh Pokhiriyal Nishank assured the members of the House that the five IIITs will follow the provisions made in the Bill to implement the reservation policy of the government.
The setting up of these five institutes and other 15 IIITs in the PPP framework makes them “a successful model” of higher education institutions so far as the employment of the students passing out from these institutions is concerned.
“Since these institutes have been set up in partnership with the industry, their curriculum is in sync with the demand of the skills required in the industry,” he said, “while the rate of placements is 100% at some of these institutions, the overall rate of placements across all IIITs is 70%.”