A mutually-stimulating qualitative and quantitative swing in the direction of overall improvement marks the dynamics and mechanics of Punjabi University, Patiala, during the last few years.

The multi-dimensional expansion that it has been a witness to has both been quick-paced and steady, sustained and seamless, with each front paving way for the other. It has not come across any cul de sac with unstinted support ever forthcoming from its committed and resolute faculty. "Unprecedented and unique landmarks", "Innovative and grandiose concepts", "Unimaginable reforms" and "Setting new landmarks and records" could easily be attributed as some of the catchphrases describing its progress.

      The University saw an unprecedented upswing in the matter of introduction of new faculties, new courses and new infrastructure, increasing the number of affiliated colleges and regional campuses, in addition to launching of a new concept of Neighbourhood Campuses in the Malwa hinterland. The total strength of students on the University Campus has increased from 4,000-plus to over 8,500 during the last about five years with over 600 teachers doing the task of imparting instruction to them. With the setting up of three new Engineering Colleges, including two for the rural students, and addition of new courses from the next session this number is likely to touch 10,500. The number of affiliated colleges to the University now has also crossed 140.                     

To promote technical and professional education, a University College of Engineering (UCoE) was established in 2003 on the University Campus, which now has become third best sought-after engineering institute in the region and second in Punjab. Significantly, around 95 per cent of its first batch students have been picked up for placements by various multinational companies. Encouraged by this, the University has doubled the intake in various streams of this course.

Notably, the 10-storey building raised for the college is second highest structure after Punjab Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh. Two other eight-storey buildings, to be used as hostels have been completed in a record period of about 15 months.     

  Following the principle of all-inclusive development, the University launched a crusade for the upliftment of rural society through various means. It all started with the opening up of Yadavindra College of Engineering at Talwandi Sabo in 2004 and Neighbourhood Campuses in 2006 in six remote villages of Rampura Phul, Jhunir, Karandi, Ralla and Delha Sihan, existing in the most backward districts of Bathinda, Mansa and Sangrur. The most significant aspect of this magnanimous venture is that the village bodies of these areas have donated over 300 acres of land costing more than Rs 50 crore as a matter of voluntary participation. This is a marvel in a State where farmers resort to violent protests against the acquisition of their lands despite financial compensation paid by the governments of time. 

        To award a clear advantage to the rural youth where the Neighborhood Campuses have been launched, the University has made a provision of 50% reservation for the students from the concerned sub-division and the remaining 50% to be admitted from the rest of the rural Punjab. In consonance with the national policy, the University has made a provision of 15% of the total seats to be filled on All-India basis from the rural areas.  Now, a few students from Uttaranchal, Haryana and Rajasthan have joined these the rural students to compete at the national campuses. These campuses thus are aimed at catalyzing rural transformation and enable levels in all the spheres of life, in addition to motivating them to strive for higher goals.

 A survey carried out by the University’s Department of Economics to find out the number of rural students on the campuses of various universities of Punjab has opened the eyes of planners all over the country as it showed that only four per cent students on the campuses of Punjab’s universities are from rural areas against 66 per cent of rural population. Not only this, they get a paltry share of just about Rs. 7.30 crore as against Rs. 158 crore spent every year on their urban counterparts.

      A move to address to the concerns of rural poor in an order to "Reach the unreachable and uncared-for”, resulted into launching a crusade to mobilize financial resources for the students of YCoE under the Golden Heart Scholarships Scheme from some of the beneficent and kindly institutions and donors from India and abroad.

     The altruistic campaign of Punjabi University is aimed at bridging the widening gaps between rural and the urban, rich and the poor, and deprived and the privileged sections of the society. This befittingly corresponds to the vision of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who has recently stated that “a quantum jump in our University system needs to be well planned and funded and that the states and local governments must do more to expand access to remote areas and to the marginalized groups”. We have perhaps gone a step further by taking the hi-tech professional and job-oriented education to the doorsteps of those rural down and outs, having undergone a long innings of deprivation.       

   Surprisingly, Punjab government’s grant still constitutes only 25 per cent of total expenditure of the University. The idea of University education picking up under these circumstances is beyond anybody’s expectations. The issue assumes more significance in the light of the fact that the State Universities in the USA and Canada get about 70 per cent of their annual budget in the form of government grants. And in Germany, higher education was totally free till the last year.

      Recognizing the reality of collapse of school education in rural Punjab, the University started picking up students after tenth class for our Engineering Colleges at Talwandi Sabo and Rampura Phul as a pioneer step. Moreover, they do not have to pay their fee of Rs 45,000 per year as it was solicited from some generous donors.

    Spread over 84 acres of land and occupying 3.75 lakh sq. ft. of covered area, the YCoE has already over 1,600 students on its rolls for its various courses which include M.Tech., M.C.A., six-year B.Tech. Integrated Course and four-year B.Tech. with facilities to follow these courses up to the doctorate level. After taking over the Campus, our University has already spent over Rs 25 crore for creating state-of-the art infrastructure which includes seven computer labs, mechanical engineering workshop, up-to-date electronic labs, 2 Mbps radio-link internet connectivity, boys’ and girls’ hostels, teachers flats, well-stocked library and playfields and a language lab to improve the communication skills of the rural students.

      We have already spent Rs 1.10 crore for the renovation, furnishing and making the latest equipment available to the students of the Neighbourhood Campuses. Responding to the repeated requests from village heads, the University has now planned to start new vocational courses in these Neighborhood Campuses from the forthcoming academic session which

include, M.Sc. (Information Technology), MCA,  B.Sc. (Biotechnology), B.Tech.(Electronics and     Communication Engineering, and Computer Engineering) and PG Diploma in Computer Maintenance & Networking. These Campuses have already been conducting MBA, BCA, PGDCA and CCA courses since their inception last year. Recently, following an objective evaluation, the Planning Commission of India sanctioned Rs 10 crore for the development of these Campuses. The University on its part has allocated another Rs 10 crore for raising new buildings and infrastructure to meet the newer demands of the students and faculty vis-à-vis needs and requirements of the evolving world of liberalization, privatization and globalization.

      All this has happened contrary to expectations of everyone concerned with the idea of taking high-tech professional education to the hinterlands of the Malwa belt of Punjab. Now that the multinational companies have turned their searchlights towards rural institutes for recruiting skilled candidates as an exclusive genre, the educational scenario is seeing a distinct relativistic shift favouring our rural youth. This has generated a lot of enthusiasm among the rural population for entering into newer types of public-private partnership for the betterment of their generations-next. The University has recorded an unparalleled number of more than 300 placements for its students in various courses on the University Campuses and its regional campuses by reputed national and international business organizations like Wipro, Infosys, Satyam, Accenture, Tech Mahendra, Atos Origin and Infogain during the last year. The annual packages offered by these companies range from Rs 2.85 to 3.50 lakhs per annum.

       Two new courses of BCA and M.Sc. (Information Technology) will be added to the already running PGDCA and CCA courses started last year at the University’s Baba Jogi Pir Neighbourhood Campus, Ralla in Mansa district. The new courses to be started at the College of Engineering, Rampura Phul include Master of Computer Applications, B. Tech. (Electronics and Communication Engineering, and Computer Engineering). The College at the moment is offering a six-year Integrated Engineering Course, while the University College is running the BCA, PGDCA and a Post-graduate Diploma in Dress Designing. The three other Neighbourhood Campuses set up by the University at Karandi, and Delha Sihan (Sangrur) are running the CCA, BCA and PGDCA courses. The total strength of students at the moment in all these courses is over 450, with 26 rooms and three labs equipped with 40 computers. The next academic session at Guru Kashi College, Talwandi Sabo, will be a witness to the commencement of such exclusive courses as B.Sc. (Biotechnology), P.G. Diploma in Computer Maintenance and Networking, and Bachelor of Computer Applications. With the

Department of Physiotherapy and Sports Sciences starting specialized courses in Sports Physiotherapy, Cardiopulmonary Physiotherapy and Neurological Physiotherapy from the next academic session, the University is destined to earn the rare distinction of becoming the first University in the region to impart instruction in these specializations. The Department is already running an Outdoor Patient Department (OPD) in the University’s Health Centre to treat the patients and provide clinical training to the students at a very nominal cost of Rs 20 to 30 per day

to 50 to 60 patients daily. The University Department of Journalism earned the distraction of becoming the first Department in the region to evolve Research Faculty eight years ago to award Ph.D. degrees in the subject.

    Many a magnificent stride by Punjabi University has generated a sense of pride among whosoever is concerned with the University. The number of UGC’s Special Assistance Programme (SAP)  departments has risen from three to seven, four new departments have earned the ASSIST status by the UGC for continuation under SAP with enhancement of grants, the Department of Biotechnology got crowned with the status of FIST (Fund for Improvement in Science and Technology) by the Government of India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) in addition to a large number of major projects awarded to its faculty by various national and international funding agencies.

The University achieved another milestone by establishing a separate Department of Gurmat Sangeet and a Keertan Repertory to produce qualified professional keertankaars for reciting raga-based Gurubani on string instruments.

       The blitzkrieg with which the University has spread in respect of acquiring new land and raising new structures during the last five years is another matter to feel honoured about. While the new land acquired for establishing rural centres, including YCoE, Talwandi Sabo, College of Engineering, Rampura Phul and the Neighbourhood Campuses has touched the 300-acre mark, the plinth area covered during this period is to the tune of 9.50 lakh sq ft. Another six-lakh sq ft of area will be covered during the next two years.

   This can proudly be compared with the treasure that the University had 40 years previous to this-- about 18.50-lakh sq ft of covered area and about 316 acres of land. This, by implication, means that another University has evolved during the last five years in respect of land acquired and area covered. More significant is the fact this all has happened without a single penny’s grant extended by the government to the University for this purpose.

       The Theatre Repertory of the University has carved out a niche for itself in the annals of theatre repertories anywhere around. Established as an independent wing in March 2005, the Repertory achieved a unique milestone by adding more than Rs 12 lakhs to the kitty of the University by staging over 165 shows in more than 100 villages, town and cities of Punjab of its two productions, Mitti Rudan Kare and Neon Jarh, based on the scourge of drug abuse and female foeticide. Now, the new production, Saada Jagon Seer Mukya is making waves.

     As a consequence of this all, the Punjabi University has honourably emerged as the largest University in the state from being smallest one five years ago. Besides, it has raised a strong foundation with futuristic ideas.