New Delhi: Three more Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) would come up in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan in fiscal 2008-09, Finance Minister P Chidambaram announced in Parliament on Friday.
While allocating Rs 344 billion for the education sector – an increase by 20 per cent over – he remarked that the new IITs will start soon.
While IITs coming up at Patna in Bihar and Medak in AP is expected to start from the next session in 2008-09, the Rajasthan Government is yet to provide a suitable site for its IIT, considered as a premier engineering institution in the country.
There are seven IITs in the country – in Kharagpur, Mumbai, Chennai, Kanpur, Delhi, Guwahati, and Roorkee. These autonomous engineering and technology-oriented institutes of higher education were established and declared as Institutes of National Importance by the Government.
With the three new IITs, in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, the number will increase to 10.
Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh had earlier indicated that more IITs would come up in the coming years.
The Government is also likely to develop one engineering institution in the state as IIT in the near future. He also announced upgrading of many other engineering institutions that would be developed at par with the IIT.
The Union HRD ministry has already upgraded Regional Engineering Colleges – one in every state – to National Institutes of Technology.
Special focus on education
With 11th Five Year plan giving special focus on education, the Government on Friday earmarked over Rs 38,702 crore to the sector in the Union Budget 2008-09, showing a massive increase of over Rs 9,000 crore.
A sum of Rs 27,850 crore has been provided for school education as compared to last year's revised estimate of Rs 23,191.35 crore.
Of this, elementary education has been given Rs 19,777.50 crore this year as against Rs 18,439.61 crore the previous year. A bulk of Rs 13,100 crore would be provided to flagship programme Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) to universalise education in the country.
The Mid-day Meal Scheme, which would receive Rs 8,000 crore, would be extended to all children upto upper primary level (from class I to VIII) in all areas across the country.
Allocation for the secondary education has been doubled with Rs 5,139.70 crore in 2008-09 as against Rs 2,465.18 crore last year.
With Government proposing to set up high quality model schools, a sum of Rs 582.80 crore has been earmarked for this purpose during the year.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his Independence Day address last year had announced setting up of 6,000 new high quality schools – one in every block of the country.
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