Number of Institutions of Eminence to rise to 50: Education Minister

NEW DELHI: Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said that the Centre intends to increase the number of Institutes of Eminence (IoEs) to 50 from the current 20. Half of the final set will be private and the remaining public. Pokhriyal was speaking at the FICCI Higher Education Summit 2021. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is a private trade association.

The universities and institutions designated as “Institutions of Eminence” are granted autonomy from a large variety of regulations and in the case of public ones, funds. They are expected to rise up international ranking frameworks although the scheme has not had that effect so far.

Ramesg Pokhriyal said that the role of the private sector in education is huge and private universities have played an important role in the improvement of India's education sector.

Education minister on NEP 2020

On the National Education Policy 2020, the education minister said it is aimed at allowing Indian talent to be used for the development of India. And that NEP is “based on the foundation of equity and accessibility”.

"There will be a race for patents in this country instead of the package after the new education policy is implemented," the education minister said. “We will try to utilise the potential of private universities, which are highly capable to improve the quality of research in India.”

He said that presently eight lakh students go abroad for higher education outside which translates into Rs 2 lakh crore going out of the country in terms of their potential contribution to the economy. “We are trying to reverse this trend and students should study in India. Through our Study in India programme, we are trying to attract international students to India, like Yoga, different weather patterns, etc,” he said.

“We are creating a National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) through which we plan to reach the farthest end so that every student can have access to quality education,” Pokhriyal said.

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