Rapid strides in education under Mr Shivraj Singh Chouhan

By Muslim Saleem

Bhopal, July 8 2101

Madhya Pradesh has undergone major educational, social and economic changes during the last eight years' rule of the BJP. All sections of the society had been provided equal opportunities and facilities. But it is education in which the state made rapid strides under the able leadership of Chief Minister Mr Shivraj Singh Chouhan, reports SMS News & Features.

Due to sustained efforts of Chief Minister Mr Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Higher Education Minister Mr Laxmikant Sharma, Madhya Pradesh is now home to some of the premier educational and research institutions of India such as the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, (IITDM) Jabalpur, the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, (IITM) Gwalior, the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), and the National Law Institute University, (NLIU) Bhopal.

Madhya Pradesh has the second oldest engineering college in India, Jabalpur Engineering College (JEC) and one of the oldest medical colleges in India, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College, Jabalpur.

The Indian Institute of Management, Indore also known as “Prabandh Shikhar” or “Peak of Management”, is the sixth addition to the prestigious IIM family. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Indore, established in 2009, is part of a mega-project that envisages India as a Global Technology Leader.

Bhopal is being developed as a knowledge hub. Besides government institutions, a large number of private educational institutions have also been established here. A lot of investment is being made in the education sector in the state these days.A Hindi-medium university will be established here while engineering and medical colleges teaching in that vernacular language will also be set up in several places. An additional Rs 60 crore was allocated for technical education and establishing vocational training centres in the districts and blocks.

There have been some revolutionary changes in the field of higher education over the years. The most important change is that now higher education is a major contributor to the economy. With India striding fast to become a knowledge society higher education is no longer restricted to a handful rich and so called higher sections of society. Now it is accessible to event the poorest of the poor. With banks advancing education loan poverty of higher is no longer a hurdles to pursue higher education.

Even more important factor is that now almost all sections of society are growing more and more aware about importance and need of quality higher education. Even middle class and lower middle class people, who used to be keen on buying houses, now prefer to invest in higher education of their children. Even children now are often heard say to their parents“ We do not want you to spend lavishly in our marriage, please securing us the education we want”. Besides, the returns on quality higher education are so good that the youth want to spare nothing to excel in it.

One would thus see that the youth of India is quite passionate to shine at international level by virtue of knowledge and professional skills. This is a revolution in education in true sense. How can Madhya Pradesh, centrally located in the country, be intact from this revolution? In view of the above said facts, it becomes the responsibility of the state government to ensure quality education and better educational facilities to the youth. In last four years the present Madhya Pradesh government has lived upto this expectation. As a result now Madhya Pradesh is poised to emerge as a higher education hub. This is well brought out by the fact that at the Global Investors Summit held in October last at Indore MoUs were signed for twelve private universities in the state.