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SAARC University to start functioning in New Delhi by August
PTI
Tuesday, April 27, 2010 18:39 IST
Thimphu: 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 SAARC Summit beginning here tomorrow, which will be attended by 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 said.
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.
SAARC University to start functioning in New Delhi by August - dnaindia.com