Gandhinagar, June 30 (IANS) Gandhinagar is set to get a new campus for the Indian Institute of Teachers Education (IITE), with the Gujarat government approving a Rs 127 crore project that will include academic facilities, research infrastructure and a hostel for more than 600 students.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the new campus, which will serve the state university established in 2010 under the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The event was attended by Education Minister Pradyuman Vaja and Ministers of State Trikam Chhanga and Rivaba Jadeja.

According to the state government, the new campus will include an academic building, faculty facilities, advanced classrooms, science laboratories, seminar rooms, a state-of-the-art library, a museum and sports infrastructure.

A modern hostel accommodating more than 600 male and female students will also be constructed.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vaja said the project represented more than the construction of a new building. “Today is not merely the beginning of the construction of a building, but the beginning of a new era in creating outstanding teachers who will make invaluable contributions to shaping India’s future,” he said.

He added that India should aim to prepare not only teachers but “nation-building” educators capable of playing a leading role globally and serving educational systems beyond the country’s borders.

Vaja said the university was established with the objective of creating a world-class institution for teacher education and that the newly approved funding would support its further expansion.

The Rs 127 crore grant will be used to develop new academic and faculty buildings, laboratories, seminar halls, a library, museum and sports facilities, alongside the student hostel.

Referring to the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the minister said Gujarat had been among the leading states in adopting the reforms.

He said the policy emphasised multidisciplinary education, research, innovation and skill-based learning and that IITE was being developed into a multidisciplinary university in line with those objectives.

“As part of this transformation, seven new university schools have been created to promote holistic education and research through the integration of diverse fields of knowledge,” he said.

Vaja also described education as “the most powerful medium for the development of society and the nation”, adding that teachers build the nation from within the classroom.

“The foundation stone laid for the new campus was not merely for a cement-and-concrete structure but a strong foundation for the bright future of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ through a ‘Viksit Gujarat’,” he emphasised.

Addressing the gathering, Chhanga said the university was established under a vision that extended beyond literacy and aimed to encourage new thinking and research in education.

“This university is not confined to imparting literacy alone but plays a foundational role in building a modern Gujarat and a modern India by introducing new thinking and research in the field of education,” he said.

He expressed confidence that, alongside the implementation of NEP 2020, the institution would contribute to significant changes in educational practice and pedagogy across the country in the years ahead.

During the programme, the ITEP curriculum was digitally launched by the dignitaries present.

The event also included the felicitation of teachers from Shri B.N. High School in Vadnagar who had taught Prime Minister Modi during his school years.

Among those present were Gandhinagar Mayor Mira Patel, Rajya Sabha member Rajesh Shukla, faculty members, academic heads, directors, principals and students of IITE.

–IANS

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