Himachal works towards educational hub status

It has earned for itself the sobriquet apple state, is also known as the fruit bowl and with over 22 lakh families all set to plant herbal and medicinal plants on August 3, Himachal Pradesh is well on its way of becoming the herbal state of the country. Besides, being bestowed with nature’s bounty, efforts are now on to make this hilly state an educational hub of the country.Despite tremendous pressure on land holdings and difficulty in acquiring adequate land for setting up educational institutions, the state’s tranquil environs and climatic conditions are fast turning it into a popular destination for various organizations involved in the field of education. Applications for the launching of 12 universities lying at the state government’s office, besides the IIT and the Central University that are proposed to be set by the Government of India are indications of this fact.The state government has already given letter-of-intent to four of the applicants to set up private universities, which include the Hyderabad-based Institute of Chartered Financial Analysis of India, the New Delhi-based Ritanand Baldev Education Foundation, the Centre of Advanced Studies in Engineering, Baddi and the KD Educational Trust. Two private educational institutes are likely to start their courses from this academic session. The private universities have an array of courses outlined for the students, which range from engineering to architecture, pharmacy to IT, public health and naturopathy to nursing, and business administration to B Ed. Some of the thrust areas of the engineering colleges would be to cater to manpower requirements of the industrial units, mostly pharmaceutical, that have mushroomed in the state, as well as the innumerable hydro-electric projects that have either been set up or are in the pipeline. Even the government is keen to ensure that the youths of the state obtain vocational training as it would curtail the unemployment problem, which over the past few years has posed as a major problem.In this direction, the process of setting up at least one polytechnic in each of the 12 districts of Himachal Pradesh at a cost of Rs 22.5 crore is already underway. Initially, one ITI in each district would be upgraded to the polytechnic level by using these funds.Incidentally, Solan and Sirmaur districts of the state are emerging as the most preferred areas for setting up of the private universities because of their easy accessibility and a pleasant climate. There are already about two dozen private institutions, universities and colleges in Solan which are offering over 3500 seats in various professional courses.Chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said that the state government is keen to make Himachal Pradesh an educational hub of the country. “Hence, all the applications that have been received by it for setting up private Universities are being closely scrutinized and they will continue to be encouraged to set up their institutions in the state.