Patna, May 8: National Institute of Technology (NIT), Patna, is yet to get land for a new campus but the expansion plan of the tech hub got a fillip today with the laying of foundation stone for new hostels and a students’ activity centre on the existing campus.

D. Purandeswari, Union minister of state, human resource development (higher education), laid the foundation stone for two boys’ hostels, a girls’ hostel and an activity centre.

Sources said the new buildings, funds for which would be provided by the Centre, would ease accommodation woes of several students who come from other districts and take admission at the institute.

The boys’ hostels will be four and 11-storeyed, and will accommodate 225 and 700 students respectively. The girls’ hostel that would be six-storeyed, would accommodate 300 students.

The activity centre on campus will be used to host cultural and other events, as well as the college festival.

U.C. Ray, director, NIT-Patna, said the hostels would be able to accommodate all NIT students who have to live outside the campus.

At present, only 20 per cent of the students can be accommodated on campus.

Purandeswari said: “It is the responsibility of the youths to convert India, the land of ideas, into the land of opportunities. The present generation should try to become employment generators and employment seekers.”

Listing the priorities of the Union government, Purandeswari claimed that the Right to Education aims to provide compulsory education to children of age group six to 14.

She also said: “At present, only 12 per cent population in India have access to higher education. The government has set a target to convert that number to 30 per cent by 2020. For that we need a large number of colleges, universities and other centres of learning.”