JEDDAH, 18 June 2003 — An advanced center of learning and research is coming to the south Indian state of Kerala with the support of leading academics and philanthropists in the state as well as Keralite expatriate workers in the Gulf.
The center, which will eventually become a university, is likely to boost scientific and technological progress.
“Our aim is to establish world-class centers for advanced studies and research in the areas of science and technology, humanities and Islamic theology and culture,” Prof. K.A. Jaleel, a renowned academic and chairman of the Social Advancement Foundation of India (SAFI), told Arab News.
“It will be first of its kind in Kerala,” he said about the planned university, which will have three advanced research and study centers: biotechnology, information technology and Islamic studies. There is also a plan to establish a heritage museum, with artifacts of universal value, he pointed out.
SAFI has already bought 500 acres of land some 10 km west of Calicut Airport to carry out the project, which is expected to cost more than one billion Indian rupees. SAFI has requested Indian expatriates in the Gulf to support the project by purchasing units of land on the campus. “This is not a land-sale business. We provide land in the compound as a token of appreciation for those who support this unique educational project,” he said.
The new center intends to provide admission to 200 students for postgraduate, doctoral and postdoctoral studies in the first year. The number will gradually grow to 1,000 students. The center will charge a nominal fee from students who will be selected on merit.
“Students will be given aggressive training by a well-qualified and experienced faculty,” he said. Spelling out the special features of the planned university, Prof. Jaleel said it would be research-oriented. “We have contacted some leading individuals to join the center’s faculty. We will provide them with attractive facilities,” he said and commended the overwhelming support from the government as well as society.
The project is spearheaded by a trust of outstanding personalities including former vice chancellors, directors of research centers, intellectuals and philanthropists. Jaleel said that SAFI was a registered charitable trust with 20 founding trustees and 20 additional trustees.
The trustees include Dr. N.A. Kareem, former vice chancellor of Kerala University, Prof. Bahauddin, former pro-vice chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, and Dr. Bavappa, former director of the Central Plantation & Crops Research Institute.
The organization seeks assistance from international organizations such as the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah.
“We are also getting support from leading philanthropists such as Gulfar Muhammad Ali, P.V. Abdul Wahab, Yousuf Ali and Dr. Azad Moopan,” he said. “A single philanthropist has sponsored a major project in the new biotechnology center,” he pointed out.
“We want to have a leading position in scientific and technological fields if we want to be a living and powerful society,” Jaleel said while talking about the project’s objective.
“We are now a consumer society and we want to reverse this situation. We have to come to the forefront of emerging areas of science and technology,” he said.
The center plans to establish cooperation with foreign universities including those in the West and the Gulf. He said the center was not aimed at competing with existing institutions.
“We don’t want to repeat courses already in existence in other colleges. We will focus on post-graduate and post doctoral studies,” he added.
The center will carry out special research projects in the three areas.
The campus will have an advanced library with modern facilities. The project will take about five years to complete, he said.
A former principal of Farook College, which is known as the Aligarh of Kerala, Jaleel said Muslims in the state had made remarkable advancements in education as a result of the combined efforts of several organizations.
There are now at least 55 Muslim-run colleges in the state. He commended the encouragement given by P.M. Foundation to outstanding Muslim students in the state. Of the 286 candidates passed in IAS and IPS exams this year 16 were Muslims with six being from Kerala.
