Draw up plan to raise GER to 50%: Ramesh Pokhriyal to officials

NEW DELHI: Education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has asked officials to draw up a plan to increase GER (Gross Enrolment Ratio) to 50 percent by 2035.

The Union education minister chaired a meeting of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) today where he asked officials to draw plans on educating additional 3.5 crore students to increase the GER. The centre has allocated Rs 3,000 crore under the RUSA this year in the General Budget 2021, through which it supports higher education institutions under the state governments and union territories.

While the overall allocation to higher education in the Union Budget 2021 dropped by over Rs 1,000 crore, RUSA saw a significant increase in allocation. The fund under the scheme had seen a steep decline in the past three years with Rs 1,392 crore allocated in the year 2018-19, which was increased to Rs 2,100 crore in 2019-20 but revised to Rs 1,380 crore in the same year. However, in 2020-21, the scheme saw a huge reduction in the funding, as the government allocated it just Rs 300 crore, which has been increased to Rs 3000 crore for next fiscal.

After the meeting, Pokhriyal tweeted: “A total of seven crore students with employable skills should pass out from our colleges and universities.”

Chaired a meeting of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan(RUSA). @EduMinOfIndia officials to draw plans on educating additional 3.5 cr students to increase GER to 50% by 2035. A total of 7 cr students with employable skills should pass out from our colleges & Universities. pic.twitter.com/pvaLUt6Cs9

— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) March 1, 2021

The minister also wrote: “Education should lead to local employment. Degree college education should be aligned with “one district one product” plan.”

RUSA is a centrally sponsored scheme to provide strategic funding to higher education institutions throughout the country.

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