PUNE: The Maharashtra government has announced it will set up the state’s first world-class international sports university in Pune and it will be functional from the 2021-2022 academic year.
State Sports Minister Sunil Kedar, who made the announcement here Thursday, said that the university will be the centre of sports excellence in the country that will pick and train sportspersons of international calibre.
The university will bring together the faculties of various sports and games, besides research, training and development to produce national and international-level sportspersons in various disciplines, Kedar further said.
Kedar said that the sprawling Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex (SCSC) in Balewadi, Pune, would be upgraded to the status of a full-fledged university with initial funding of Rs 4 billion, as announced in the budget.
The state government had given an in-principle approval to the draft bill for setting up of the international sports university in the city and also got its approval during the winter session of the legislature on December 14-15. The bill was approved in both the state legislative assembly and the council.
The SCSC has hosted the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, besides several other national and international sporting events and has most of the relevant infrastructure needed for a world-class sports training complex, said Kedar.
“The state government has decided to upgrade the existing sports complex into a university and a special budgetary allocation of Rs 400 crore has been made for the purpose. The government had already announced during the budget that an international class university will be set up in Maharashtra. A total of 216 posts have been sanctioned for the new university where world class sportspersons will be trained,” Hindustan Times quotes Kedar as stating.
Of the proposed 216 posts, 166 shall be permanent, including that of the Vice-Chancellor, the Registrar, the university staff, and the various heads of departments, etc, IANS reports. The remaining 47 will be of contractual nature. Besides, top experts and sports legends in various fields will be invited from India and abroad on honorarium or contract basis.
The move follows a report by a committee headed by Dr Vijay Khole, ex-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mumbai, which submitted its draft act to the government on the ‘International Sports University, Maharashtra, 2020’.
“The university will offer courses and research in sports, sports-related science, sports medicine, technology, training and coaching in various disciplines, sports management, sports media and communication and related aspects. All facilities shall be on par with international standards to enable the students and players get quality training and inputs in their chosen sports fields,” Kedar further explained, as quoted by IANS.
“There is a need to improve the quality of sports facilities, develop and nurture national/international level players as well as provide technical manpower in the field of sports by starting courses in various faculties. In this way, job opportunities may be made available in the field of sports in the future,” Kedar said.
