Education Minister Ms Atishi along with the concerned officials reviewed the progress of various higher education and technical education projects on Wednesday. During the meeting, the newly appointed Education Minister took note of the needs of various higher education institutions and directed the officials to resolve their issues on priority. The major focus during the meeting was laid on a review of the progress of ongoing projects in the Delhi government to create world-class educational infrastructure in higher education and technical education institutions, that can ensure quality education for every student of Delhi.
Education Minister Ms Atishi said, “In Delhi, 2.5 lakh children pass out of Class 12. But despite having talent and ability, only 1 lakh of these children get admission in any university. Taking cognizance of this, the Delhi government started increasing the capacity of its universities. In this direction, the Delhi government is getting 2 new campuses of Ambedkar University ready. Increasing university seats and re-conceptualizing our technical institutes is the government’s topmost priority.”
In the field of higher education, one of the prominent projects of the Delhi government is the construction of two new campuses of Ambedkar University in Rohini and Dheerpur. After the completion of these two campuses being built at a cost of Rs 2306.58 crore, 26,000 students will be able to take admission in various courses here. This project has been approved by the government and soon the construction work of both these campuses of the university will start. During the review meeting, the Education Minister instructed the officers to expedite the work of both campuses and complete them as soon as possible.
She added that the Delhi government under the leadership of CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal is trying to create an innovative space for students that help them achieve their goals. To ensure this, the government is paying special attention to the fact that new campuses have all the required facilities to address the academic needs of students.
Both campuses will have multi-story academic blocks, convention block, health centre, auditorium, MLCP, administrative block, library block, amphitheatre, guest house, separate hostels for girls and boys. Residential units will also be constructed here.
During the meeting, the Education Minister directed the officials to create an action plan for the advancement of ITIs as model ITIs. This is the need of the hour so that students can be provided with the skills which are in demand in the 21st century. Along with this, he also talked about exploring the possibilities of creating centres of excellence in ITI institutes so that highly specialised skills can be given to the youth here in collaboration with industry partners.
It is to be noted that there is a huge demand for admission to Delhi’s ITIs. There are a total of 11,000 seats in the current 19 ITIs of the Delhi government, where more than 30,000 applications are received every year. In such a situation, the government is making plans to build new ITIs and expand old ITIs.
The Education Minister also reviewed the expansion project of Shahdara ITI. It is to be noted that the project is currently in the design phase. She instructed the officials to expedite the process of design and start the next phase as soon as possible. Post completion of this project 10,000 students will be able to take admission in skill-based courses here. Here students will be given skills education according to the needs of the market in the 21st century which will provide them with better job prospects.
