Lucknow, July 20 (Representative) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday invited prestigious private universities and higher education institutes of the country to invest in the state and said that the investment made in education never goes in vain. While interacting with Chancellors, Vice-Chancellors, Pro-VCs, Directors, Chief Executive Officers and other representatives of prestigious private universities and higher educational institutions of South India and Central India, Yogi said, “Education is the medium to shape the future of the country and the society. A state with a young population like UP has endless possibilities in the field of education. The private sector should take advantage of this. The government will provide all possible help to the institutions for setting up universities in unserved districts.” He said that UP represents the country’s spiritual and cultural heritage. “Since ancient times, this region has been a major center of education. Kashi is the best example of this. Kashi, Ayodhya, Mathura have been ancient cities of culture and civilization,” he said. The CM said , however, in the last 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.
Today, infrastructure development and inter-state connectivity have improved in the state,” he said. He said, “Before 2017, there were 12 medical colleges in the state, due to efforts made in the last 6 years, government medical colleges are operational in 45 districts, 16 are under construction and 16 more medical colleges are being established on Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode today. Yogi said, “Today, 22 state and 3 central universities are operational in the state, 3 state universities are under construction, whereas 36 private universities, 2 AIIMS, 2 IITs and IIMs are functional. A long chain of more than 2,000 polytechnic and vocational institutes is also functioning, which strengthens the educational scenario here.” He said that despite all these there are still many districts where no universities are functional. “Keeping in view the aspirations of the local youth, the state government implemented a new policy encouraging the setting up of private universities, which has yielded unprecedented results. Recently educational institutions of Shahjahanpur, Baghpat and Chitrakoot districts have shown their interest,” he said. The CM said that UP is making efforts in the direction of excellent universities. “Many educational institutions in the private sector have set standards of excellence. UP is ready to provide the benefit of their experiences to the youth of the state,” he said.
Talking about the possibilities for the private sector, he said that 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. “This year 56 lakh children appeared in the UP board exams. These figures of students are more than the population of many states,” he said. Yogi said, “Go to a health center or educational institution in any district of eastern UPand there you will find people from the state as well as Nepal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand. This situation suggests that UP has immense potential for private sector universities,” he said. During the interaction, he also discussed the policy of sustainable development in the state and quoted the latest report of NITI Aayog. “In the last six years, 5.5 crore people have been freed from the clutches of poverty. Work was done in every essential sector including education, health, skill development and employment generation. The result is in front of everyone. UP can set new standards in the field of education with the help of the private sector. The government will ensure the safety and respect of all investors,” he said.