PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Higher education in Uttarakhand has become more accessible to the students in the last 25 years. There were only three State universities and 31 government colleges in 2000 when Uttarakhand was created. The State now has a total of 11 government universities including five State universities and 118 government colleges. Apart from them there are 31 private universities and 238 private colleges which are contributing to higher education in the State.
In the last 25 years the number of students seeking higher education has also increased. The number of students in universities and colleges of the State in 2000 was about one lakh which now has increased to over five lakh. A total of 2.54 lakh students including 1.53 lakh girls are currently enrolled in the government colleges and universities of the State. The percentage of girls is 60 per cent of the total student number. The gross enrolment ratio which was 31.1 per cent at the time of creation of the State has now become 41.8 per cent which is above the national average.
With increase in the number of institutes the number of teachers and non-teaching staff has also increased considerably. In the year 2000, there were a total 918 teaching posts and 795 non-teaching posts in the State which has now increased to 2,351 teaching and 1,036 non-teaching posts. In the last five years the higher education department recruited 1,059 teachers and 290 non-teaching staff. The department has appointed principals in all the colleges.
After 2017, three state universities, six private universities, two deemed universities, 45 government colleges and 11 aided colleges have been accredited with National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NACC).
The Higher Education minister Dhan Singh Rawat said that the State government is committed to link education with employment and society. He said that the objective is to educate the youth and make them self-reliant. The minister averred that imparting quality education, uniformity of opportunities and administrative transparency in the higher education sector is one of the priorities of the State government.
