The autonomous Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, will soon start working on a Plan 2025 development project coinciding with its 150th year celebrations.
The governing council of the only autonomous college in the State in the government sector is planning to approach the government ahead of implementing various academic and infrastructure projects under the Plan 2025 initiative.
“New courses and infrastructure projects will find place in the vision document. We plan to hold wider consultations with a variety of stakeholders, including old students, prominent citizens, and well-wishers of Maharaja’s, which will complete 150 years of its existence in 2025,” said P.K. Raveendran, chairman of the college governing council.
A detailed project report will be prepared ahead of submitting the project to the government. “A postgraduate course in archaeology is one among the academic programmes proposed. It will be a unique course targeting those who are keen to take up the subject for research,” he added.
A multi-crore indoor stadium and sports complex figure among the major infrastructure projects to be completed by 2025. The initial plan is to have an indoor stadium with facilities for playing basketball, table tennis, and badminton at the Maharaja’s College ground.
Mr. Raveendran said the projects would be finalised in a time-bound manner, and that the aim was to complete them by 2025. “The construction of a library complex is expected to be over by the end of this year. Work on the academic block is progressing fast,” he added.
The renovation of the old hostel is expected to be completed in three months, while the construction of a new hostel block is in progress.
Budget allocation
The college got a boost when Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac earmarked ₹5 crore in the Budget for government autonomous colleges. A project report will soon be placed before the Finance Department for administrative sanction for financial aid.
The other projects on the anvil include construction of a state-of-the-art auditorium, rejuvenation of heritage buildings, infrastructure development (modernisation of labs), and digitisation of classrooms.