The Abdul Bari Memorial (ABM) College in Golmuri is all set to get a makeover. Tata Steel, as part of the compensation, has promised a facelift of an extended campus as the college will lose 8,200 sq ft due to a road widening programme in front of the college.

As compensation, the corporate will help the college with land and other facilities that would help the college to get a makeover.

Mudita Chandra, the principal of the college, Kolhan University officials with proctor AK Jha, dean, students’ welfare, TCK Raman and officials from Tata Steel participated in a meeting to discuss the new plan.

Principal of ABM College Mudita Chandra said that the meeting was quite fruitful. Instead of the 8,200 sq ft, Tata Steel has promised one lakh sq ft adjacent to the existing campus along with a football ground, a parking area and beautification.

They have agreed to re built a new structure with a strong foundation.

A team from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Bangalore had inspected ABM College in Golmuri after more than 30 years. It is a constituent college of Kolhan University.

“We will lose a lot of area from the entrance gate but still we have agreed on the new plan. We are happy that the new plan looks better with better facilities," said Chandra.

The constituent college of Kolhan University had also applied for accreditation to be eligible for development funds under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA). So far this was the only college to not have had a NAAC accreditation, now a mandatory requirement for higher educational institutions that makes them eligible to receive central funds.

According to the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi all the colleges ought to get themselves accreditation from NAAC.

This would help colleges to receive grants under the centrally sponsored scheme Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan popularly known as RUSA.

Each college under the development plan will receive a development grant up to Rs 2 crore that would help the college administration change the existing almost non-functional structure in colleges. The Kolhan University has asked colleges should submit their proposals this year to receive the disbursement as soon as possible.

“RUSA is an excellent opportunity to the state universities to upgrade educational and research  ambience of infrastructure, knowledge resources and skill development expertise to produce international quality manpower.

It should also be underscored that the upgraded colleges and universities would be mentored for high-quality research outputs with fund-associated expertise through RUSA," said a senior official.