Bhubaneswar, May 30: The state government has set a target to enhance gross enrolment ratio in the higher education sector by around 10 per cent within the next three years.
At present, the ratio has been 19.6 per cent and the state wants to reach at 30 per cent by 2020. "To reach this goal, widespread expansion of educational network, and at the same time, ensuring quality improvement are required," said higher education minister Ananta Das.
A sum of Rs 230 crore has been released to 115 colleges and Rs 180 crore to nine universities under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan for their infrastructure development.
The higher education department controls 980 degree colleges, 12 government universities and five private varsities.
Besides, proposals to upgrade four autonomous degree colleges to university, set up 13 more private universities and 18 deemed varsities are under the consideration of the state government.
In another development, the state government has set up a State Higher Education Council for the overall development of the higher education sector through more research, activities and quality improvement.
Three autonomous colleges have been upgraded to unitary university and eight model degree colleges have been set up in educationally backward districts. In the past three years, the government has approved the proposals to open 106 degree colleges and 126 Plus Two colleges to provide opportunities to one lakh youths to avail themselves of higher education.
Apart from this, the Plus Two (higher secondary) courses have been separated from the degree colleges to concentrate on the higher education sector.
To encourage meritorious and needy students to prosecute higher studies, technical and professional course, the government had launched the Kalinga Siksha Sathi Yojana last year. Under this scheme, it has made arrangement to get bank loan at 1 per cent interest rate. It has placed Rs 270 crore in the budget for this purpose. Besides, the application procedure for getting stipend and scholarship has been simplified and made online.
To make the admission procedure easier and transparent, the state government had introduced e-admission system in colleges and included vocational education and Sanskrit under its fold from 2016-17 academic session.
