Mysuru: The University of Mysore is one of the seven premier institutions of higher education in Karnataka that has applied for the Institute of Eminence (IoE) status under a scheme of the Central Government and if selected will get a world class University tag.

The University of Mysore, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), the Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru and the National Institute of Technology, Surathkal, are the State-run institutions, which have applied for the tag.

JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysuru and the Manipal Academy of Higher Education have applied for the tag under the existing private Universities’ category.

Bengaluru-based Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) has sought the approval for the new establishment of a brand new IoE, a Greenfield venture.

The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has received a total of 100 applications out of which 67 are from State-run institutions and 33 from private entities for the IoE status. It has also received Rs.100 crore from the applicants. Each applicant was required to deposit Rs. one crore as processing fee.

Yesterday (Dec.12) was the last day for applying for the tag. HRD Ministry will now select 10 public and 10 private “Institutes of Eminence,” said the Ministry sources.

HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar in a tweet said yesterday, “Overwhelming response to the idea of creating 20 Institutions of Eminence. In all, 100 applications have been received. This is validation of the vision of PM @narendramodi for improving the quality of Higher #Education in India.”

An Empowered Expert Committee will shortlist the 20 institutes through a challenge method to ensure only the best of the proposals are approved, the Ministry said, adding that the tag will give institutes greater autonomy to admit foreign students and recruit foreign faculty, offer online courses and tie up with top 500 Universities in the world without permission from the University Grants Commission (UGC).

They will also be free to fix fees of foreign students and decide their own course structure in terms of credit hours or years to get a degree.

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, Prof. Yashawantha Dongre, Director, Planning, Management, Evaluation Board (PMEB), UoM, said, “We have to deposit Rs. one crore for applying for IoE tag. If we get selected then we will get Rs. 1,000 crore for five years, which works out to Rs. 200 crore per year. We have to prepare a 15-year perspective plan and five-year action plan. Of course, we will be competing with the likes of IISc. and IITs but we are the only State University in Karnataka who is eligible to apply. Other private Universities like JSS and Manipal will also apply. But they will not get grants like we do. If we do not get selected we have to forfeit Rs. 25 lakh and the government will return Rs. 75 lakh.”

Asked what gave the Univeristy the confidence to apply for the IoE status, Prof. Dongre said that the University of Mysore definitely has a potential to be a world class University in future. “There will be a Committee which will monitor our progress if we get the status. If we falter any time, then we have to pay a penalty. Our strength is the strong research base we have,” he added.