Improving quality of education and massive upgradation of higher education infrastructure to arrest brain-drain priority of Government:Minister

Mr Prakash Javadekar, Union Human Resource Development Minister, today stated that improving the quality of education, both at school and higher education levels, to encourage research and innovation along with expansion, is a priority of the Government. Addressing at a session on education sector, organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, here, he said stressed on the need to encourage and facilitate research and innovation.

The Minister said, ' Research parks, incubation centres and start-ups from IIT hostel groups have come up. Under Uchchatar Abhishkar Yojana (UAY) started by the Government, research students are working on customised requirements of industry. ' ' A higher education finance agency has been made operational to provide loan without interest to good institutions to improve their laboratories and research facilities. The Prime Minister scholarship scheme will provide stipend between Rs 75,000 – 1,00,000 every month to research scholars, ' mentioned the HRD Minister. ' These are being done to curb brain-drain of research scholars who tend to go abroad because of better infrastructure and facilities.

Under Rashtriya Uchcha Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), the Government is providing Rs two crore to rural colleges and Rs 20 crore to universities for upgrading their infrastructure, ' he said. ' Another scheme of the HRD Ministry, Tequip, which is now running in its third phase, aims to uplift technical education infrastructure with a special focus on the institutions of east and north-east, ' he iterated.