Category Archives: EDUCATION

UN Urges Greater Youth Role In Education Policy As Global Inequality Persists

Posted on by
Reply

Despite progress in expanding access to education worldwide, stark disparities remain between wealthy and poorer nations, leaving millions of children and young people without schooling. United Nations education experts say empowering youth to participate directly in shaping education policies could play a crucial role in addressing these gaps.

Ahead of the International Day of Education, observed each year on January 24, UN officials and youth advocates highlighted the importance of involving young people in designing education systems that reflect their needs and experiences.

The theme of this year’s observance, “The Power of Youth in Co-Creating Education,” underscores the growing call for young voices to be included in decisions that shape the future of learning.

Large Global Education Gap Persists

According to UN education experts, around 272 million children and young people worldwide remain out of school.

The divide between rich and poor countries remains particularly severe. In the poorest nations, about 36 percent of school-age children and youth are not enrolled in education, compared with only 3 percent in the world’s richest countries.

These inequalities are even more pronounced among vulnerable groups, including children with disabilities, ethnic and linguistic minorities, refugees, migrants and LGBTQ youth.

Marco Pasqualini, an education specialist with UNESCO in Paris, said young people should be central participants in efforts to improve education systems.

“When it comes to education, young people have a particular stake because they are the primary beneficiaries of education,” he said. “Educational reforms and priorities have a direct impact on them.”

From Consultation To Co-Creation

Pasqualini emphasised that meaningful youth engagement goes beyond simply asking young people for feedback.

Instead, the concept of “co-creating education” involves actively including them in decision-making processes related to education policy and reform.

Jacques Kwibuka, a UN youth leader from Rwanda, said traditional policy-making often excluded young voices.

“In the past, those designing education policies assumed they already understood the challenges young people face because they had once been young themselves,” he said.

Co-creation, he explained, allows young people to contribute ideas and solutions directly while policies are being developed.

“It’s not just about consulting young people,” Kwibuka said. “It’s about giving them the space and freedom to contribute to the programmes and policies being designed.”

Mindset Barriers On Both Sides

Experts say one of the biggest obstacles to youth participation lies in entrenched attitudes.

According to Kwibuka, many institutions still underestimate the value of young people’s perspectives. While organisations may invite youth to share opinions, they often stop short of allowing them to influence decisions in meaningful ways.

At the same time, young people themselves sometimes hesitate to speak up, particularly in rural or disadvantaged communities.

“Many young people undermine themselves because of low self-esteem or because they think opportunities are meant only for highly educated individuals,” he said.

Encouraging greater confidence and creating accessible platforms for participation are therefore essential steps toward improving youth engagement.

Platforms Needed To Amplify Youth Voices

Pasqualini noted that a lack of platforms where young people can participate in global discussions about education remains a major challenge.

To address this gap, UNESCO launched the SDG4 Youth and Student Network, a global initiative linked to Sustainable Development Goal 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all by 2030.

The network currently includes around 110 young leaders and students from 80 countries, selected from more than 5,000 applicants.

Through the initiative, youth representatives are given opportunities to engage directly with policymakers and international organisations on education reform.

Technology Helping Youth Engagement

Advocates say new technologies are also helping young people become more informed and involved in shaping education systems.

Kwibuka pointed to growing youth-led initiatives in Rwanda, where young people are using digital platforms to collaborate on education projects and share ideas.

“With platforms supported by organisations like UNICEF, we are empowering each other and strengthening our collective voice,” he said.

He believes these developments could lead to stronger youth participation in shaping not only education policies but also broader social and development systems.

Education Still A Global Priority

Despite political tensions and global challenges, Pasqualini said there remains strong international commitment to improving education systems.

UNESCO continues to lead global efforts aimed at expanding access to quality education and supporting reforms that make learning more inclusive.

“Despite the world being in turmoil and multilateralism sometimes being questioned, there is still a strong interest in education,” he said.

For UN officials and youth advocates alike, the message is clear: meaningful involvement of young people will be essential to building education systems capable of meeting the challenges of the future.

UN laments US withdrawal from educational and cultural agency

Posted on by
Reply

The United States is once again set to leave the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a move that has drawn strong expressions of regret from senior UN officials and revived a long-running dispute between Washington and the Paris-based cultural body.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said she “deeply regrets” the decision by President Donald Trump to withdraw the US from the organisation, warning that the step runs counter to the spirit of international cooperation.

“I deeply regret President Donald Trump’s decision to once again withdraw the United States of America from UNESCO,” Azoulay said in a statement, adding that the decision contradicts “the fundamental principles of multilateralism.”

At the United Nations headquarters in New York, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Secretary-General António Guterres shares that view. “The Secretary-General joins Ms. Azoulay in deeply regretting the decision by the United States,” Dujarric told reporters.

A long history of US exits

The US relationship with UNESCO has been turbulent for decades. Washington first withdrew from the agency in 1984 under President Ronald Reagan, citing concerns about management and ideological bias.

After remaining outside the organisation for nearly 20 years, the US rejoined in 2003. However, during Trump’s first presidency the country again exited the agency in 2017, accusing it of anti-Israel bias and institutional problems.

The decision was reversed in 2023 when President Joe Biden restored US membership and resumed financial contributions to the agency.

Dispute over policies and Palestine

A statement from the White House said the latest withdrawal was intended to protect American interests from what it described as UNESCO’s promotion of “divisive social and cultural causes.”

It also criticised the organisation’s alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, describing them as a “globalist ideological agenda” incompatible with Washington’s “America First” foreign policy.

The statement further pointed to UNESCO’s decision to admit the State of Palestine as a member state, a step that US officials say runs counter to American policy and encourages anti-Israel rhetoric within the UN system.

Azoulay rejected accusations that the organisation is hostile to Israel. She pointed to UNESCO’s work in Holocaust education and efforts to combat antisemitism, noting that these initiatives have been widely supported by international partners, including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

UNESCO says it prepared for the move

Azoulay said the agency had anticipated the possibility of another US withdrawal and had already adjusted its financial structure.

Although the United States currently accounts for around eight percent of UNESCO’s budget, she said funding from other member states and private partners has expanded significantly in recent years. Donations from private contributors, she noted, have doubled since 2018.

“The organisation is now better protected financially,” Azoulay said, adding that UNESCO will continue collaborating with American universities, private institutions and non-profit groups.

She stressed that the agency remains open to future engagement with Washington. “UNESCO’s purpose is to welcome all the nations of the world, and the United States of America is and will always be welcome,” she said.

From crisis to classroom: How the UN supports education in conflict zones

Posted on by
Reply

Of the 234 million school-age children affected by conflict globally, 85 million children are completely out of school.  

The figures are “unprecedented,” Helena Murseli, who leads the UN Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) Global Education in Emergencies team, told UN News. 

© UNICEF/Jospin Benekire

UNICEF’s Helena Murseli.

“These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a global pattern of escalating conflict that affects children’s right to learn,” she said.  

Childhood without education

In the short and long-term, the consequences of missing out on education during violent crises are severe.

“Education is not just lifesaving, it’s also life-sustaining and life-changing,” Ms. Murseli emphasised.

“When schools close, families also lose their anchor. Children miss the structure, the safety, the normalcy that education provides,” she said. “The day-to-day reality becomes about immediate survival, rather than building a future for them.”

Ms. Murseli stressed that the long-term impacts are just as or even more significant. “Education breaks cycles of conflict and poverty. When entire generations miss school, countries lose the human capital needed for recovery and development. We risk creating what we call a ‘lost generation’—children who grow up knowing only crisis, without the skills or hope to rebuild their society.”

Sudan: The world’s largest education crisis

In terms of numbers, Sudan is the world’s largest education emergency. An estimated 19 million children are out of school, and 90 per cent of schools are closed nationwide due to ongoing violent conflict.

To help address this crisis, Ms. Murseli highlighted that over 2.4 million children have returned to school through more than 850 UNICEF-run Makanna centres – meaning “our space” in Arabic.  

UNICEF has also supported over 250,000 children with holistic education services, providing students with water, sanitation, nutrition and protection so they’re able to successfully continue their studies.  

The also organization utilises solar-powered tablets for education, “perfect for a country with more than 10 hours of daily sunshine,” said Ms. Murseli.

© UNICEF/Ahmed Mohamdeen Elfatih

Children in Kassala, Sudan, study with the help of digital tablets.

Additionally, a $400 million Transitional Educational Plan led by the UN’s education organization (UNESCO) aims to restore access to education and vocational training.

Looking ahead, UNICEF’s education support project in Sudan plans to support relatively stable states with printed materials and remote learning tools. 

Systematic destruction of schools in Gaza

The war in Gaza and the destruction of 95 per cent of educational infrastructure has left over 660,000 children out of school – nearly all of Gaza’s school-aged population.

Many former UN-run schools are now being used as shelters for displaced people.

A report to the UN Human Rights Council found that Israeli forces systematically destroyed education infrastructure in Gaza and described these actions as possible war crimes. 

Learning with what’s available

According to Ms. Murseli and the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) more than 68,000 children in Gaza have been reached through temporary learning spaces offering education and psychosocial support.

UNICEF is also recycling pallets into school furniture and converting supplied boxes into tables and chairs.  

© UNICEF/Mohammed Nateel

In addition, digital tools to study literacy and numeracy lessons have been provided to nearly 300,000 Palestinian refugee children. 

Ukraine: education under fire

Within Ukraine, 5.3 million children face barriers to education, and around 115,000 are completely out of school due to the ongoing war.

With many schools on the front lines either closed or operating remotely, over 420,000 children attend school fully online, while 1 million use a hybrid model. 

However, ongoing energy shortages have reduced access to online learning to as little as two and a half hours each day, and in-person school is often disrupted by indiscriminate attacks.

In Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine, the UN Human Rights Office said that authorities are enforcing a militarised, patriotic curriculum and banning the Ukrainian language – actions that violate international law, which requires occupying powers to respect children’s national identity and education.

Catch-up classes and safe spaces

UNICEF has established 150 student learning centres in frontline areas and offers twice-weekly catch-up classes in maths and Ukrainian language.  

To adapt to the situation on the front lines, Ms. Murseli also highlighted UNICEF’s running of schools in underground metro systems and bomb shelters.

© UNICEF/Kristina Pashkina

Children study in a shelter in Kharkiv metro in Ukraine.

In 2025, the organization aims to help over 500,000 children across the country access formal education and recreational activities.  

To increase safety, UN Ukraine has also launched an initiative to create protected shelters for students and staff during air raids. 

The costs of inaction

As crises deepen and humanitarian funding continues to decline, education programmes have faced dramatic cuts.  

Ms. Murseli underscored that as humanitarian funding could drop up to 45 per cent by the end of this year, “despite being families’ top priority in emergencies, education receives only 3 per cent of humanitarian aid.”

“I think we are at the critical turning point where we need urgent prioritisation of education and not further cuts,” she said.  

Amid rhetoric of a “humanitarian reset” – saving funds by making the humanitarian system more effective – Ms. Murseli emphasised that holistic education programmes that provide students with the humanitarian resources to thrive are the key to withstanding crises and development in the aftermath.

“We’re talking about 234 million children’s future and ultimately, global stability and development. The cost of inaction far exceeds the investment needed to get every crisis-affected child learning,” she concluded.  

Source link

$1 towards a girl’s education = $3 for the global economy: That’s how development works

Posted on by
Reply

Every dollar invested in girls’ education yields an average return of $2.80 – translating into billions in additional GDP. Similarly, each dollar spent on water and sanitation saves $4.30 in healthcare costs.

Simple math, not miracles

These aren’t miracles – they’re measurable outcomes. Maths doesn’t recognize gender or infrastructure; it simply reflects the truth in numbers. And those numbers make a compelling case: helping countries with the least resources benefits everyone, including those with the most.

Even a single dollar, strategically invested, can make a profound difference.

For example, allocating just $1 per person annually to combat non-communicable diseases could prevent nearly seven million deaths by 2030. Likewise, every dollar spent on disaster risk reduction can save up to $15 in recovery costs.

Yet despite such compelling evidence, development aid is often misunderstood – seen by some as mere charity, and by others as a vehicle for profiteering.

Equity, not charity

The latest UN Development Programme report on Afghan women entrepreneurs challenges the skeptics.

It highlights that these women are not seeking charity – they’re asking for a fair chance to succeed. Earning their own income gives them a measure of independence, which in turn strengthens the communities they live in.

Against all odds, they are generating income, creating jobs, and building fuller, more enriching lives.

Expanding access to public and private financing, guaranteeing loans, offering preferential terms in international markets, and reinforcing support networks can fuel business growth and foster a more prosperous future – whether in Afghanistan or Ecuador, or anywhere in between.

FFD4 faces strong headwinds

These examples – from education and health to entrepreneurship and disaster resilience – paint a clear, data-driven narrative: smart investments in development pay dividends for everyone.

That message should be front and center at the upcoming Fourth UN Conference on Financing for Development which will be held in the Spanish city of Sevilla, from 30 June to 3 July. But the summit, known by its clunky acronym FFD4, faces stiff headwinds.

Even as countries negotiating at UN Headquarters in New York agreed a week ago on a sweeping outcome document – set to be adopted at the close of the conference and intended to guide the future of global development aid – some nations are pulling back.

Notably, the United States has announced it will not send a delegation to Sevilla at all.

And even though there are some notable exceptions, including Spain, which has increased its development financing budget allocations by 12 per cent, the uncertain landscape ahead has led UN Secretary-General Antono Guterres to lament that “global collaboration is being actively questioned.”

This questioning is reflected in the $4 trillion annual deficit in development financing, as well as the abandonment of earlier commitments and delivery of aid by donors at what the Secretary-General has called “a historic speed and scale.”

Moreover, the Sustainable Development Goals, signed by all world leaders just 10 years ago, are a long way off track.

What is at stake in Seville?

Success in Sevilla “will require other countries to fill the global leadership vacuum and demonstrate credible commitment to multilateral cooperation, which is essential for our survival,” states Jayati Ghosh, professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Meaningful steps forward must include deep reforms of the international financial system. As it stands, it fails to meet the needs of developing countries while steadfastly protecting the interests of wealthier nations.

Consider this: developing countries face interest rates at least twice as high as those paid by developed nations. And today, the average rates charged by private creditors to these countries have reached their highest levels in 15 years.

What aid gives, debt takes away

Developing countries spent a record $1.4 trillion on external debt service in 2023, the highest in 20 years.

Meanwhile, in 2024, more than 1.1 billion people live in developing countries where external debt servicing accounts for more than 20 per cent of government revenue, and nearly 2.2 billion live in developing countries where the percentage is higher than 10 per cent.

Interest payment on this debt hinders development by preventing investment in health infrastructure and education services, to cite just two examples.

Debt restructuring is therefore essential, because much of the hope for development is lost in the give and take of aid and debt.

Promoting investment in what works

Eradicating hunger, advancing gender equality, protecting the environment, confronting climate change, and saving our oceans are not radical ideas.

Despite claims from some highly ideological viewpoints that the Sustainable Development Goals represent an extremist agenda, they are, in fact, a shared baseline – an urgent set of priorities that humanity demands and that the leaders of 193 countries committed to in 2015.

Despite the noise made by those who oppose development aid and multilateralism, they are a minority, says Spain’s Secretary of State for International Cooperation.

Ana Granados Galindo sees Seville as “a beacon of global solidarity.”

Meanwhile, as the world gears up for FFD4, mathematics, statistics, and Afghan women continue to work their common sense ‘development magic’.

Source link

Health, education, opportunity at stake, amid stubborn digital gender divide

Posted on by
Reply

Closing this gap is not optional. There were189 million fewer women than men online in 2024.  

The disparity is about more than access, it reflects deeper systemic barriers, according to ​Doreen Bogdan-Martin who heads the UN telecommunications agency, ITU.

“That’s too many missed opportunities to learn, to earn and to shape our shared digital future,” she said in a message for Thursday’s International Girls in ICT Day.

She underscored that connectivity alone is not enough to ensure true digital transformation.

“It must be meaningful – being able to afford digital devices and services, having the skills to use technology and feeling safe in online spaces. Everyone deserves the chance to thrive in an increasingly digital world.”

ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin’s video message.

2025 Theme

Celebrated annually on the fourth Thursday of April, Girls in ICT Day encourages girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Since its launch in 2011, more than 417,000 girls and young women have participated in over 11,500 celebrations across 175 countries.

This year’s theme is Girls in ICT for inclusive digital transformation. The ITU is calling for more investment in girls’ digital education and expansion of access to technology.  

More young women need to become creators – not just consumers in the digital world, the agency argues.

“Whether you are an entrepreneur, launching an AI startup, a teacher incorporating digital skills into your classroom or a policymaker shaping our shared digital future, you can help ensure every woman and girl has the chance to connect, create and lead in digital spaces,” Ms. Bogdan-Martin emphasised.

A participant at a UN-supported training on STEM for girls and young women.

Global observance

The 2025 global observance will be co-hosted this year by the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Eurasia together with States from the Arab region, featuring a live-streamed hybrid event linking Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and Nouakchott, Mauritania.

The programme includes an intergenerational dialogue bringing together girls, women leaders, and ICT experts to discuss practical strategies for closing the gender gap.

Events are also being organized worldwide, including Girls in ICT in Solomon Islands in the Pacific, the Melon Girls Club in North Macedonia and STEM Supergirls in Croatia.

Source link

5 Takeaways from New Education policy 2017

Posted on by
Reply

Indian Minister of State for Human Resource Development Satya Pal Singh has said that the new education policy is in final stages and it would be announced in December.

Inaugurating a ‘National Academic meet’ in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, Satyapal Singh said the policy envisages to ‘correct’ the course of education system in the country, that has followed a colonial mindset. The Minister said it will be the first education policy that was discussed layer by layer and threadbare.

He pointed out that unfortunately after independence, most of the academicians followed the footsteps of British and Western scholars and deliberately denigrating Indian culture. Stating that the biggest challenge being faced by the education system and the government is ‘how to de-colonise the Indian mind’ and the government is working on the policy in this regard.

Dr. Singh said improving the quality of education from the primary level, making higher education affordable to people and accessing higher education to more are some of the major issues faced by the education system. He said skill development is one of the major areas the government has given thrust upon.

To prevent the exodus of students to foreign countries seeking education, Dr. Singh said the higher education institutions should be developed to the standard of Centres of International Excellence. He said accessibility to higher education in the country is only 25.6 per cent while in USA 86 per cent Germany 80 and in China 60 per cent.

The Minister pointed out that the aim of the government is to improve the higher education system in the country to make available to more students. Stating that higher education is very expensive, Dr. Singh said it has to be made more affordable to all sections in the society.

Indicating that changes are necessary in the Right to Education Act, Dr. Singh said the Act lacks teeth. The Act provides right to compulsory primary education. But what is the remedy if parents do not send their children to school. So many things have to be done in improving the primary education in the country’, he added.

The meet was organised by Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram as part of the navathi celebration of P Parameswarn, Director of Vichara Kendram.

Early puberty may mean less time in education for girls

Posted on by
Reply

The age at which girls have their first period may influence how long they stay in education.

The findings come from a study in which researchers have tried to untangle the effect of the age at first period from other complex factors that might affect time spent in education, revealing that young women who start their periods earlier may spend less time in the education system.

Previous research has indicated girls who reach sexual maturity earlier may be more prone to developing depression and, in low and middle income countries, more vulnerable to early pregnancy and negative sexual health outcomes, but whether it affects how long they spend in education was unclear.

Studies trying to pick apart the link between the age at which a girl has her first period — called menarche — and how long they spend in education can be muddied by numerous factors, including obesity, socio-economic status, and parental education level.

Now, a team led by researchers at Imperial College London has tried to untangle this complex relationship by turning to genetic markers as a proxy for the age of first period. Using a statistical method called Mendelian randomization, they attempted to remove the influence of external factors such as diet and lifestyle — which are known to be associated with both early menarche and less time in education.

By using genetic markers known to be associated with menarche, the researchers have revealed an impact of the age of first menstruation on the amount of time spent in education.

“It’s well established that the length of time that someone spends in education can have repercussions later on in life,” said Dr Dipender Gill, a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Fellow at Imperial and lead author of the study. “It is associated with socio-economic status, rates of depression, risk-taking behaviour and a range of health outcomes, so clearly time spent in education is important. This study identifies that the age of puberty may have an effect on the length of time that women spend in education.”

In the study, published in the journal Behaviour Genetics, researchers looked at data from more than 180,000 European women, where 122 points in the genome where a single ‘letter’ difference in the DNA — called a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) — were associated with the onset of menstruation in girls.

The effects of these markers on time spent in education were then estimated using a separate dataset including more than 118,000 women over the age of 30 and of European descent, where participants had provided the number of years spent in education.

Analysis revealed a small but statistically significant causal link between markers for age at menarche and the length of time women spent in education. The findings showed that on average, starting menstruation one year later was associated with approximately an additional 53 days spent in education.

According to the researchers, one possible explanation for the observed effect could be due to young women being treated as more mature due to physical changes, while their emotional development takes time to catch up. Such a delay between physical and mental maturation may give rise to factors which lead to less time spent in education, such as increased risk-taking behaviour, or a failure to adapt psychologically to changes in how they are treated.

The group reports that the data could be skewed by women self-reporting the age they had their first period. In addition, the extended age ranges of women in the study group — born over nine decades (1901 to 1989) — overlaps with societal changes and the establishment of educational programmes. They add that the findings cannot be used to predict how long a young woman might stay in education, based on her age at her first period.

According to the researchers, now that a link has been established, the next step is to work out why age of menarche is having such an effect.

“Once we understand the mechanism, it might give us the opportunity address the discrepancies that we’re seeing,” explained Dr Gill.

“Going through puberty is associated with various physiological and psychological changes,” he adds. “It might be that girls who go through puberty earlier are less well-equipped to deal with the pressures. They may be suffering as a result and this might be manifest in the length of time that they spend in school.”

‘Age at menarche and time spent in education: a Mendelian Randomization study’ by Gill, D. et al, is published in the journal Behavior Genetics.

Schemes to make education loan as easy loans

Posted on by
Reply

All Scheduled Commercial Banks provide Education Loan to students. Simple interest is charged during the study period and up to commencement of repayment. Accrued interest is added to the principal amount borrowed while fixing EMI (Equated Monthly Instalment) for repayment.

The Schemes launched by the Government to provide interest subsidy to the students include:

(i) Central Scheme to provide Interest Subsidy (CSIS) wherein full interest subsidy is available for the students belonging to economically weaker sections, for studies in India, for educational loans disbursed on or after 1st April, 2009 during the period of moratorium.
(ii) Padho Pardesh Scheme to award interest subsidy to meritorious students belonging to economically weaker sections of notified minority communities for overseas studies.
(iii) Dr Ambedkar Central Sector Scheme of Interest Subsidy on Educational Loan for Overseas Studies for Other Backward Classes whereby interest payable by the students for the period of moratorium is borne by the Government of India.

In order to facilitate easy processing and disbursal of loans, Government has launched a web-based portal namely Vidya Lakshmi Portal where students can apply online and track education loans. Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Education Loans (CGFSEL) is also there wherein collateral free loan is given upto Rs.7.5 lakh.

This was stated by Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Finance in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

Quota of OBCs in higher education

Posted on by
Reply

The University Grants Commission(UGC) has circulated the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 and Amendment Act, 2012 to all Central Educational Institutions directing them to implement reservation provisions for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) including admission of OBC students to these Institutions. UGC has issued instruction to all the grant-in-aid institutions funded by the Central Government, except minority Institutions under Article 30(1) of the Constitution of India to implement 27% reservation for OBCs.

As per the information available with the Ministry, during 2015-16, 22 out of 40 Central Universities have successfully achieved the prescribed percentage of student intake from OBC Community. Some of the universities like Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Milia University and some like Mizoram University, Nagaland University, North Eastern Hill University could not achieve the prescribed percentage as these were either minority institutions or were situated in Tribal dominated areas where less OBC students apply for admissions. All Indian Institutes of Technology/National Institutes of Technology/Indian Institutes of Information Technology achieved the stipulated 27 % intake of OBC students. Further, 13 Indian Institutes of Management out of 19 and 22 out of 31 National Institutes of Technology recorded more than the stipulated 27% student intake.

The Government of India and UGC has been continuously monitoring the progress of implementation of Reservation policy for OBCs in admission to courses at all level in Universities/Institutions.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development through UGC instructs Universities/Institutions to furnish periodic reports on the implementation of reservation guidelines for OBCs for admissions to courses at all level and Hostel accommodation for students.

UGC has a dedicated SC/ST/OBC section which monitors effective implementation of the Reservation Policy for all communities including OBCs in admission and recruitment to various posts in universities and colleges.

This information was given by the Minister of State (HRD), Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey today in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha question.

India Signs Agreement on $201 Mln Loan From World Bank for Quality Tech Education

Posted on by
Reply

India has signed an Agreement for IDA credit of US$201.50 million for the “Third Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme” (TEQIP III) on February 1, 2017 in New Delhi.

The loan agreement envisages an active funding participation in Indian Engineering Education Institutes and improve the efficiency of the Engineering Education System in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, 8 North Eastern States and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

The Project seeks to improve quality and equity in engineering institutes in these states and to undertake system-level initiatives to strengthen sector governance and performance.

The World Bank loan, to be implemented till March 2022, will be disbursed based on achievement of specific outcomes and goals by these institutions, said a World Bank statement.

Mr. Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs signed the agreement on behalf of the Government of India and Mr. Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director for World Bank, on behalf of the World Bank.

“The focus on strengthening engineering education and research under TEQIP III will help prospective labor market entrants acquire the skills needed to produce a world-class technical workforce,” said Junaid Ahmad, World Bank Country Director in India.

TEQIP III will intensify its efforts in the focus states with the support from the IITs, IIMs and other high-performing institutes across the country. “As with previous phases of TEQIP, the country’s top institutes will mentor TEQIP colleges and help them develop their curriculum, faculty and students”, said R. Subrahmanyam, Additional Secretary, Department of Technical Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development, the implementing agency for the project.