Chandigarh, July 16 – Haryana Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini and Union Education Minister Sh. Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the Southampton University Campus in Gurugram on Wednesday. After the inauguration, both leaders also visited the campus.
On this occasion, Haryana Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini said the establishment of the Southampton University campus in Gurugram, under the National Education Policy and the principle of “One Earth, One Family, One Future,” will help take India’s higher education standards to new heights. He expressed pride that Haryana is becoming the first choice for foreign investors due to excellent infrastructure. He said the University of Southampton—one of the top 100 universities in the world—has now set foot in Gurugram. This symbolizes growing cooperation between India and the UK in the education sector. He added that today marks a golden chapter in India’s education landscape, as this is not just the inauguration of a new campus, but a major step toward realizing the dreams of India’s youth and the vision of a “Viksit Bharat by 2047.”
Campus is a stamp on PM’s vision of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: CM
The Chief Minister said under India’s new education policy, for the first time, the UGC has approved a full-fledged international university campus in India. This is a direct result of the vision of the National Education Policy and reflects PM Modi’s principle of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’.
He said the campus is opening new doors of opportunity for Indian youth. Students here will receive high-quality education and experience similar to the UK, along with a globally recognized degree. Additionally, students will have the option to study for one semester or one year in the UK, offering a unique opportunity to gain global exposure.
‘Haryana is becoming a global hub of education’
In his address, Sh. Nayab Singh Saini said this campus of the University of Southampton will prove to be a milestone in making Haryana a global hub of education. He said our goal is to make Haryana such a skill hub, where our youth not only become job seekers, but also become job providers. He said Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi has a vision to implement the New Education Policy-2020 in the country by the year 2040. To realize his vision, it is necessary to have a sufficient number of world-class educational institutions. In such a situation, we are proud that many such institutions have opened in Haryana. There are a total of 57 government and private universities in the state. Out of these, 14 universities have been opened in the last 10 and a half years. Today, a target has also been set to open a college within every 20 kilometers in Haryana. There are a total of 185 government colleges in the state at present. Out of these, 80 colleges have been opened in the last 10 and a half years. The Chief Minister stated that entrepreneurship is being promoted in the state, and students are being encouraged to take up start-ups.
India’s Universities Are Continuously Improving in Global Rankings
Union Education Minister Sh. Dharmendra Pradhan said due to the vision and leadership of Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi, a historic change is taking place in the higher education system of India. He informed that the presence of Indian universities in the world’s prestigious QS ranking has increased significantly. He said in the year 2014, only 11 Indian universities were included in the QS ranking whereas at present, this number has increased to 54. This change reflects the quality, innovation and growing trust of the Indian education system at the international level.
The Union Education Minister said with the aim of promoting healthy competition in the field of education and providing world-class education opportunities to the youth, the Central Government has allowed 17 globally reputed universities to establish their full campuses in India. The academic session has already started in three of these universities. The Education Minister also said that these international-level universities coming to the country will be opened in the major metro cities of the country, including NCR, so that high quality education can be provided to as many youth of the country as possible. He appealed that everyone should move forward in life together by becoming ‘Vishwabandhu’. He said Sh. Nayab Singh Saini deserves appreciation as he is providing a good environment for education.
While addressing the programme, the UK High Commissioner to India, Lindy Cameron, said the launch of the full-fledged campus of England’s prestigious University of Southampton in Haryana is proof that modern India and modern Britain are advancing their partnership in education in a positive and meaningful way. She said that through this initiative, local students will now have the opportunity to receive global-quality British education within their own country. This will make international-standard education more accessible and reduce the need for students to go abroad.
These courses will be offered at Southampton University Campus
It is worth noting that at present, four undergraduate and two postgraduate courses are available at Southampton University Campus. These include B.Sc. Business Management, B.Sc. Accounting and Finance, B.Sc. Computer Science, B.Sc. Economics, M.Sc. Finance and M.Sc. International Management.
British High Commissioner Lindy Cameron, UGC Chairman Vineet Joshi, Industry and Foreign Cooperation Minister Rao Narbir Singh, University of Southampton Vice Chancellor Lord Patel, University President Mark Smith, Pataudi MLA Bimla Chaudhary, Gurugram MLA Mukesh Sharma, Sohna MLA Tejpal Tanwar, Chief Minister’s Media Advisor Rajiv Jaitly, Advisor, Foreign Cooperation, Sh. Pawan Choudhary and several other dignitaries were present at the inauguration ceremony.
