Adityanath invites private universities, higher education institutions to invest in UP

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has invited prestigious private universities and higher education institution groups of the country to invest in the state. Interacting here with chancellors, vice-chancellors, directors and other representatives of private universities and higher educational institutions from the south and the central parts of India, he said the investment made in education never goes in vain.

"A state with a young population like Uttar Pradesh has endless possibilities in the field of education. The private sector should take advantage of this and the government will provide all possible help to the institutions setting up universities in unserved districts," he added. "Since ancient times, UP has been the main centre of education and Kashi is the best example of this. Kashi, Ayodhya and Mathura have been ancient cities of culture and civilisation. However, in the last few decades, a sense of alienation towards education was seen. But today, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a positive attitude towards education has awakened in the country and the state," he said.

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He pointed out that infrastructure and inter-state connectivity have improved in the state today. "Before 2017, there were 12 medical colleges in the state but after the efforts of the last six years, today government medical colleges are operational in 45 districts, while 16 are under construction and 16 more medical colleges are being established on PPP mode," he said. Today, 22 state and three central universities are operational in the state, three state universities are under construction while 36 private universities, two AIIMS, two IITs and IIMs are operational, he said.

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More than 2,000 polytechnic and vocational institutes are also operating. This strengthens the educational scenario here. Despite this, there are still many districts with no university, he said. Talking about the possibilities for the private sector, the chief minister said it may be surprising for some people, but it is true that today 1.91 crore children are studying in the schools of the Basic Education Council of the state. Today itself, Rs 1,200 each has been transferred to students' bank account for uniforms, he said "This year 56 lakh children appeared for the UP board exams. These figures of students are more than the population of many states. If one goes to a health centre or educational institution in any district of Eastern UP, one finds people from UP as well as Nepal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand," he said.

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The Chief Minister said that in the districts where no university is established, the state government will provide all necessary assistance as per its policy to the investors setting up their universities. Those who attended the meet included Dr MR Jayaram, Chairman, Ramaiah Group of Institutions, Karnataka; Dr. Amit Bhalla, Vice President, Manav Rachna Educational Institution, Haryana; GB Selvam, Vice President, VIT University, Vellore; Sanjib Kumar, President, C V Raman Global University, Odisha, besides others.