The Madhya Pradesh government has announced a big overhaul of higher education institutions in the state through the creation of a State Assessment and Accreditation Council (SAAC) patterned by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). The move seeks to boost the academic standards and upgrade the accountability of the educational institutions, as well as increase access to higher education in the state, the Chief Minister Mohan Yadav added. He also announced that the upcoming year would be a “Youth Year”, emphasizing skill building and educational development.
The state will set up new colleges in urban areas on the demand of educational need and will introduce counselling services for the students who have passed Class 12 exams. Some colleges give an option to work both in the morning and evening to provide flexibility in learning. The Govt. has also asked institutions to increase opportunities for vocational/professional courses like food processing, architecture or agricultural sciences.
The effectiveness of agricultural education programmes in linkages between over 20,000 students and specific agricultural courses has been emphasised. New BBA courses with aviation as a specialization have also been started at Indore, Ujjain and Chitrakoot. Further, new cells have been set up in Universities/Colleges in India for the promotion of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (Indian Knowledge Tradition Cells).
Currently the state maintains 384 research centers, up from 83 new ones installed in the last year. Another 100 research centers are planned to be completed soon. Madhya Pradesh has also made better than the national average growth in Gross Enrollment Ratio and has made remarkable achievements in digital education.
Digital studios have been opened at all 10 divisional headquarters and hundreds of higher education institutes have entered national digital learning platforms to facilitate modern learning. The government feels the above will build research capabilities, innovation, employability and academic excellence statewide.