Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09CHENNAI9
2009-01-12 04:32:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Chennai
Cable title:
ANDHRA PRADESH PLANS COMMUNITY COLLEGES FOR FALL 2009
how-toVZCZCXRO4400 RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW DE RUEHCG #0009 0120432 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 120432Z JAN 09 FM AMCONSUL CHENNAI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2036 INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 3453 RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS CHENNAI 000009
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON SOCI PGOV IN
SUBJECT: ANDHRA PRADESH PLANS COMMUNITY COLLEGES FOR FALL 2009
UNCLAS CHENNAI 000009
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON SOCI PGOV IN
SUBJECT: ANDHRA PRADESH PLANS COMMUNITY COLLEGES FOR FALL 2009
1. Andhra Pradesh plans to set up the South Indian state's first
community colleges in time for the 2009-2010 academic year. K.C.
Reddy, Chairman of the state's Department of Higher Education,
confirmed media reports that Andhra Pradesh will establish
U.S.-style community colleges. The state will begin by setting up
three 500 student community colleges, one in each of the state's
major regions, according to Reddy. He said the state would start by
converting existing government and government-supported colleges
into autonomous community colleges which will be independent of the
existing university structure.
2. Reddy told post that the Chief Minister wants the first three
colleges open before the start of the 2009-2010 academic year. To
achieve this target, he said, his Department will adapt the U.S.
model to meet local needs. In this regard, Reddy sought our
assistance in setting up meetings with community college officials
when he travels to the United States in February 2009. Reddy said
that the state government is already working on content, curriculum,
admissions procedures, and funding. But a senior contact in the
Chief Minister's office was skeptical about the prospect of meeting
the ambitious deadline, noting that the government will be focused
on state and national elections that will be held in the spring.
3. Comment: Andhra Pradesh's plan to open community colleges is an
encouraging development. The state has shown a willingness to look
to the United States for ways to improve its educational system, as
demonstrated in the U.S. influence on Hyderabad's Indian School of
Business and the state's effort to open a satellite campus of
Georgia Tech. It is likely that election year political
distractions, the sclerotic Indian education bureaucracy, and the
sheer difficulty of getting anything up-and-running in India will
mean that the community colleges do not open in time for the next
academic year. But, in the long run, we believe there is a good
chance that Andhra Pradesh will get this valuable expansion of its
education system done. End comment.
SIMKIN
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON SOCI PGOV IN
SUBJECT: ANDHRA PRADESH PLANS COMMUNITY COLLEGES FOR FALL 2009
1. Andhra Pradesh plans to set up the South Indian state's first
community colleges in time for the 2009-2010 academic year. K.C.
Reddy, Chairman of the state's Department of Higher Education,
confirmed media reports that Andhra Pradesh will establish
U.S.-style community colleges. The state will begin by setting up
three 500 student community colleges, one in each of the state's
major regions, according to Reddy. He said the state would start by
converting existing government and government-supported colleges
into autonomous community colleges which will be independent of the
existing university structure.
2. Reddy told post that the Chief Minister wants the first three
colleges open before the start of the 2009-2010 academic year. To
achieve this target, he said, his Department will adapt the U.S.
model to meet local needs. In this regard, Reddy sought our
assistance in setting up meetings with community college officials
when he travels to the United States in February 2009. Reddy said
that the state government is already working on content, curriculum,
admissions procedures, and funding. But a senior contact in the
Chief Minister's office was skeptical about the prospect of meeting
the ambitious deadline, noting that the government will be focused
on state and national elections that will be held in the spring.
3. Comment: Andhra Pradesh's plan to open community colleges is an
encouraging development. The state has shown a willingness to look
to the United States for ways to improve its educational system, as
demonstrated in the U.S. influence on Hyderabad's Indian School of
Business and the state's effort to open a satellite campus of
Georgia Tech. It is likely that election year political
distractions, the sclerotic Indian education bureaucracy, and the
sheer difficulty of getting anything up-and-running in India will
mean that the community colleges do not open in time for the next
academic year. But, in the long run, we believe there is a good
chance that Andhra Pradesh will get this valuable expansion of its
education system done. End comment.
SIMKIN