Japanese loan to boost higher education in Hyderabad

Japan will provide a US$174.8 million loan as development aid to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Hyderabad – the biggest ever foreign aid to an IIT – which experts say will have a leapfrog effect on the standard of higher education in the state and boost infrastructure, reports TNN.

Armed with the financial aid, IIT Hyderabad will erect nine state-of-the-art buildings, including a special technology centre, new academic blocks and a research park. Authorities will also use some of the money to acquire lab equipment and officials said the institution’s current capacity and student strength would be expanded from an existing 1,000 plus to more than 7,500 students by 2018.

Many experts say the biggest hurdle in the higher education sector in the country is shortage of trained academics. The institute said it will increase the number of teachers to more than 750 by 2018.
Full report on the Times of India site