New University a “Historic Leap” in education:CM

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday laid the foundation stone for the Swahid Kanaklata Barua State University at Bholaguri in Gohpur, Biswanath district,the first university in Assam dedicated to Industry 4.0-relevant technical and vocational education. The institution will be built on 731 bigha of land, marking a major step in Assam’s higher-education landscape.

Addressing the gathering, the Finance Minister announced that the Centre has invested approximately ₹21,000 crore in the North-East’s education sector over the past 11 years. She noted that since 2014, the Centre has invested ₹21,000 crore in the region’s education sector, opening over 850 new schools, operationalising the first AIIMS in the North-East, and setting up more than 200 new skill-development institutes.

Sitharaman also paid tribute to freedom fighter Kanaklata Barua, who laid down her life at the age of 17 during the Quit India Movement. She said, “At that age, when she should have been entering a university to study, she sacrificed her life for the nation to keep our national flag high. A university in her name should have come up a long time ago.”

She added that while a memorial at the historic site would attract visitors, “the university in her name will inspire generations of youth” and highlighted the government’s collaboration with states in the region to build a robust skills-and-education ecosystem.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed gratitude to the Finance Minister for the foundation-stone event, calling the new institution a “historic leap in Assam’s academic and industrial journey.” He recalled his earlier commitment to establish a university in Barua’s name, saying this marks the fulfilment of that promise.

Sarma said the university will not only offer courses in arts and general sciences but will focus on cutting-edge disciplines such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Quantum Computing. He noted that an academic committee of eminent educationists, including Professor Parmeshwar Iyer of IIT Guwahati, has been formed to design the academic structure.

The Chief Minister highlighted the cultural and historical significance of the Bholaguri Tea Estate site where Assam’s first Assamese film Joymoti was shot — saying the same land will now nurture a world-class university: a “golden confluence of tradition, modernity and a future full of promise.”

The State Government has sanctioned ₹500 crore for the first phase of the project, with another ₹500 crore to follow, and plans to accommodate around 10,000 students on a modern eco-friendly campus. International collaborations for dual-degree programmes are also being pursued.

Named after Kanaklata Barua, the university is envisioned as a “true temple of human resource development” that reflects the spirit of a new, self-reliant and knowledge-driven Assam.