The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the National Institute of Design (Amendment) Bill, 2019, declaring the NIDs in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Assam as institutions of national importance.
The Rajya Sabha had cleared the Bill during the previous session. Earlier, these institutes came under the Societies Registration Act and did not have the power to issue degrees or diplomas.
‘Address the gap’
During a discussion on the Bill in the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the private industry should be in sync with these institutes to cater to the dynamic consumer needs. The gap in education needed to be addressed.
His party colleague, Shashi Tharoor, said the country lacked in research and training infrastructure and that students passing out of NID might experience a major gap in the education provided and the global standards.
BJP’s Kirron Kher said the NID governing council should have a representative from the Tribal Affairs Ministry.
Several members demanded the setting up of NID in their States. Kirit Solanki of the BJP said every State should have an institute, and sought scholarships for women, SC and ST students.
DMK member Kalanidhi Veeraswamy said an NID should be established in Tamil Nadu, while Hibi Eden (Congress) sought an institute in Kochi and Trinamool Congress’s Satabdi Roy demanded one for West Bengal. BSP’s Ritesh Pandey sought institutes for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and Telangana Rashtra Samithi’s B.B. Patil sought it for Telangana.
CPI(M) member A.M. Ariff said the quality of faculty in institutes of national importance needed to be improved.
