Rajya Sabha: Centre Approves Rs 317 Crore for Higher Education in 7 AP Districts

NEW DELHI: Union Minister of State for Education Dr Subhas Sarkar on Wednesday said that the Central government has approved the release of a grant of Rs.317 crores for the establishment of higher educational institutions in seven districts of Andhra Pradesh. This was in response to a query by YSRCP MP V Vijayasai Reddy in the Rajya Sabha.

The Minister said that the grant was allocated for the establishment of model degree colleges in these districts which are lagging behind in the field of higher education, and also for improving infrastructure in colleges and universities.

The Minister said that the UGC expert committee has identified that 374 districts in the country are educationally backward including Anantapur, East Godavari, West Godavari, Kurnool, Prakasam, Srikakulam, and Vizianagaram districts in Andhra Pradesh.

The UGC panel of experts has concluded that the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of students in these districts is lower than the national average of 12.4 percent. He said that in order to improve the situation in educationally backward districts, the respective state governments need support from the Central government in implementing the educational schemes.

Subhas Sarkar said that the Central Government has launched Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) to make higher education accessible to all sections of society. Due to this, the state government will grant funds for the establishment of model degree colleges in the educationally backward districts and for the construction of infrastructure in colleges and universities, he said. As part of that, RUSA (Project Approval Board) has decided to release Rs.317 crore to improve the higher educational institutions in these seven districts identified in AP, the Minister clarified.

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