Punjab, Haryana plans to set up institutes for professional courses

In an attempt to lure industry to the region, Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh have announced plans for setting up infrastructure for institutes for professional courses.

Haryana plans to set up an education city (Rajiv Gandhi Education City) near Sonepat. The Chandigarh administration has plans also to set up an education city to offer professional courses in areas like management and information technology. Following in their footsteps, Punjab is also working on the possibility of having an IIM near Chandigarh.

But educationists in the region say the region is heading for lopsided development in education because primary and elementary schools still do not have basic infrastructure.

J L Joshi, chairman of the Centre for Development and Communication, Mohali, and former chairman of the department of education, Punjab University, said a proportional investment was needed in primary and elementary education in the region. Otherwise the benefits of higher education would be accessed by affluent classes only and this would increase the disparity, he added.

At present, only 7-8 per cent of the population has access to higher education because the education infrastructure is in a shambles in the hinterland.

Punjab University Economics Department AC Julka told Business Standard in order to have sustainable development there's need knowledge creators and not knowledge assimilators. For this, focus should be on the promotion of research and basic sciences.

"The young generation allured by the lucrative packages in IT and management is drifting away from basic sciences and this is not a good indicator," he said. Punjab is a preferred destination for most of the multinationals coming to India because of high consumption expenditure.

Academicians of the region strongly feel investment in education by the government should benefit the masses.

Public money should be invested in courses needed to strengthen the economic set-up and not to cater for the immediate needs of the companies.

The corporate sector of the developed world should invest in human resource development as they are getting extremely cheap skilled labour in India.