Centre extends higher education scheme RUSA till 2026

NEW DELHI: The Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), a centrally sponsored scheme that funds state government universities and colleges have been approved to continue till March 31, 2026, by the central government.

According to a statement from the ministry of education, the scheme involves a funding expenditure of Rs. 12,929.16 crore. The central government will contribute Rs. 8,120.97 crore and the state governments will provide Rs. 4,808.19 crore. The scheme aims to initiate around 1600 projects in the coming years.

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RUSA, in its extended new phase, aims to provide support for the disadvantaged populations such as unserved areas, rural areas, left-wing extremism affected areas, north-eastern region areas among others. “New phase of RUSA targets to reach out the unserved, underserved areas; remote-rural areas; difficult geographies; LWE areas; NER; aspirational districts, tier-2 cities, areas with low GER etc., and to benefit the most disadvantaged areas and SEDGs,” said the statement.

The ministry claims that the new phase of the RUSA scheme has been designed to implement provisions in the New Education Policy and improve the quality of higher education with equality and inclusion.

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As per the ministry’s statement. the scheme will help state governments to implement gender inclusion, equity initiatives, ICT, vocational training and skill up-gradation programmes. The scheme will also help state governments in model degree colleges, and state universities will be provided with the necessary support for taking up multi-disciplinary education and research.

The scheme also envisages providing grants to accredited and non-accredited universities and colleges for carrying out academic activities such as teaching in Indian languages.