Uttar Pradesh, home to almost 600 private engineering, management and medical colleges, churns out around 100,000 graduates annually. However, there are persistent questions about the quality of the pass-outs and concentration of these institutions in the more affluent pockets of National Capital Region (NCR) and western UP. Moreover, the education sector has its own set of grievances. In a tete-a-tete with Virendra Singh Rawat, Shri Ram Murti Smarak (SRMS) Group Chairman and UP Technical Institute Foundation President Dev Murti discusses these issues. Excerpts: -
What is the present strength of private colleges in UP?
There are about 286 engineering, 283 management and 19 medical colleges in UP. The engineering stream has the largest number of 70,000 seats on offer, followed by management at 17,000. Master of Computer Applications (MCA) offers 7,000 seats.
What are the challenges industry faces in UP currently?
The quality of students we get from UP Technical University (UPTU) is very poor. Almost 85 per cent of our students come through the university. Earlier, the qualifying percentage was 40 per cent, which has now been reduced to 25 per cent. Students who have failed in core subjects such as Maths and Physics get passed. It is very difficult to train such students.
Besides, there is a severe crunch of quality faculty in the state. The government should take immediate steps for the university-level education.
Is there any other issue that the industry wants to resolve?
The state government had announced that it would reimburse the fee of SC/ST students. While the total fee comes to around Rs 73,000 per head, the social welfare department has put a cap of Rs 35,000 for reimbursement. There is utter confusion on this issue, with district officials and the social welfare department holding divergent views. We have met the officials concerned, but nothing has been done so far.
Are the government agencies involved in promoting the private participation in the sector prompt in their approach?
There is no clear policy in granting affiliation to the colleges. Even after the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) approves a private college, there is delay on the part of state government agencies to complete the process.
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Is there any proposal for setting up more private colleges in UP?
As per our information, almost 30 new colleges will be set up in the state in the coming two years.
It is a fact that private colleges mostly sprout in NCR and western UP?
It is true. There should be a balanced development. The state government should give incentives to private players for setting up institutes in other backward areas, such as Bundelkhand and eastern UP. The sops could be in the form of a land subsidy or land lease.