New Delhi: The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has once again pressed for a Central University status to Panjab University (PU).

The State Government on September 1 withdrew its approval for Panjab University to get a Central University status, six days after the order was passed.

Officials from the HRD Ministry have said that they would be soon communicating to both the university and the State Government proposing a Central University status for PU.

"We will try once again and soon communicate to them that the window towards becoming a Central University is still open. We will be writing to them on the issue very shortly as that status will really help the university in all ways", said an official.

The HRD Ministry had put in a condition that if PU was awarded a Central University status, then the amount of money saved by the State Government must be reinvested in higher education. The Ministry has now withdrawn this condition.

Earlier, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, withdrawing the clearance. A similar communication was also sent to HRD Minister Arjun Singh.

The Panjab University Teachers' Association (PUTA) marked Teacher's Day as a black day to press their demand for central university status for the university and to protest the state government's backtracking on the issue.