Chandigarh, November 16: Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh on Thursday reviewed the progress of the work for setting up a Sports University in Patiala.
A spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said Captain Amarinder held a meeting with the Steering Committee set up to coordinate the work on the university’s establishment.
The Chief Minister had set up the Steering Committee under the chairmanship of Randhir Singh, an Olympian and senior sports administrator, in October to prepare the draft legislation of the proposed university. The decision to set up the Sports University was announced in June in the Vidhan Sabha.
Briefing the Chief Minister, Randhir Singh said the Committee had proposed that the transit campus be set up in the vacant office accommodation of the Mohindra Kothi premises, which earlier housed the Rajiv Gandhi National Law University. The Committee had identified some vacant land near the National Law University on the outskirts of Patiala city for developing the permanent campus.
The Steering Committee informed the Chief Minister that it proposed to associate with top international universities with strong capabilities in sports, such as the Loughborough University, UK, and Victoria University, Australia, for preparing the institutional design of the Sports University and to decide on the course curriculum.
Randhir Singh said the committee has requested the Chief Minister to write to Lord Sebastian Coe, Chancellor of the Loughborough University and President of the IAAF, to solicit their assistance in this regard.
The Chief Minister asked the Committee members to prepare a comprehensive Concept Paper after studying the models of various sports universities in the country and abroad, which would form the basis of the draft legislation. He also stated that it will be the endeavour of Government to start the first round of intake of students from the academic session commencing July 2018.
Among others present in the meeting were Committee members Dr. JS Naruka, Dr. LS Ranawat, Amrit Gill Director Sports, and Shivdular Singh Dhillon Director Tourism and Cultural Affairs.
