The State government will soon announce a new tourism policy to give a fillip to tourism-related activities, Minister for Higher Education and Tourism R.V. Deshpande said here on Sunday.
Karnataka was a major tourism hub. However, basic infrastructure had to be improved to increase employment opportunities and also generate revenue, Mr. Deshpande told reporters. There was a plan to set up a corporation to give a boost to infrastructure in the tourism sector. New guidelines for tourism would be framed shortly, the Minister said.
On introduction of flights between Goa and Mysore, Mr. Deshpande said he would write to the Union Civil Aviation Minister on the issue. He indicated that tourism committees would be revamped as it comprises only officials now. Members from the industrial sector too could be considered for such committees, he said.
Mr. Deshpande, referring to the “deteriorating” quality of higher education in the State, said many students who pass out of engineering colleges were not employable for various reasons. The government would give a serious thought to arrest this trend. This was happening even when the number of engineering colleges in the State was on the rise. The government would also examine the approvals given by the previous government to start private universities, he said.
The government was planning to fill posts of lecturer in colleges and gradually do away with the practice of appointing guest lectures, the Minister said, and added that the move was aimed at giving a boost to higher education by improving the teaching standards. The possibility of adopting colleges by industrial enterprises too was being looked into, Mr. Deshpande said.
