Mr Bhukkal urges Centre to give liberal grants for high education

by Haryananewswire

CHANDIGARH, NOV 8

Haryana Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal has urged the Central Government to consider liberal funding to the State Governments in the field of higher education so as to further improve the quality of higher education in the country.

          Mrs. Bhukkal was speaking in a meeting of Central Advisory Board of Education in New Delhi today.

She said that for setting up of model degree colleges and   creating infrastructure, the Central Government should consider providing full funding of Rs. eight crore to the States, instead of giving one instead of the funds. Also, 50 per cent of the recurring expenditure might be provided as matching grant for the first five years.

“We are setting up Haryana Space Application Centre (HARSAC) corners in all the 21 districts in the State to enable the students learn various principles of Physics and Geography. To ensure better quality input to secondary students, the government had taken a decision to teach secondary classes through post graduate teachers. For this purpose, 19902 posts of Post Graduate Teachers have been sanctioned on the pattern of Kendriya Vidalayas,” she added.

          While expressing gratitude towards Union Human Resource Development Minister, Dr. M. Mangapati Pallam Raju, Mrs. Bhukkal said that Haryana government has taken a number of initiatives to raise education standard. She said that Haryana was not only at the forefront in implementing the flagship programmes of Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan and Mid-day Meals, but was also introducing a variety of innovative programmes in school education as well as higher education. Apart from various such programmes, Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 had been effectively implemented in the State. She also highlighted the major challenges facing the state in the field of education including gender disparity, universal enrolment, inclusive education, regional imbalances, measuring learning outcomes, enhancing teacher quality and education employment linkage.

          The Minister said that Haryana is the first state which started continuous and comprehensive evaluation in the year 2007. Teachers are also being trained in this system of evaluation to make it more effective. Also, we have taken steps to improve science education in the state.

          With a view to provide pre-service and in-service training, she said that the government was also setting up a State Level Teacher Training Institute at Jhajjar. Besides, the State Government has decided to establish State Institute of Education, Research and Training at Jind which would be unique in the sense that it would provide training and research to the prospective teachers in colleges and other institutions of higher education. Establishment of this Institute would help in paying more attention to quality and research in education, she added.

          While welcoming the idea of enacting law for prohibition of unfair practices in school and higher education, Mrs. Bhukkal suggested that state government should be empowered to implement the law in case of all schools within the state ,including CBSE/ICSE/International Boards, with regard to the execution of civil and criminal penalties.

          She said that under National Vocational Education Qualification Framework  launched in 40 Government Senior Secondary Schools covering eight districts of the State on a pilot basis with four fields namely IT/ITES, Retail, Security and Automotive, a total of 4840 students have taken admission.

          Mrs. Bhukkal said that higher education in Haryana is passing through a unique phase marked by rapid expansion in terms of number of students as well as the institutions. The focus of the State Government is to enhance higher access through optimal utilization of the existing infrastructure, up gradation of the infrastructure and creation of new institutions both in public as well as private sector in keeping with the mandate of regional equity. She said that National Law University is being established in Rajiv Gandhi Education City, Sonipat, the Education Hub of the State. She also highlighted   the significant steps taken the state government in this direction.

          Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Dr. M. Mangapati Pallam Raju, Ministers of State for Human Resource Development, Dr. Shashi Tharoor and Mr. Jitin Prasada, Education Ministers from various states and officers were also present on this occasion.