Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Cabinet on Monday approved proposals for the establishment of three new private universities in the state, taking the total number of private universities to 56, Higher Education Minister Yogendra Upadhyay said.
The decision was arrived at in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at his official residence in Lucknow.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Upadhyay said the proposals were approved under the Uttar Pradesh Private Universities Act, 2019, following the prescribed evaluation process.
The Cabinet has cleared the issuance of Letters of Proposal (LoP) and operational authorisation to the sponsoring institutions.
He said the state government was committed to expanding access to quality higher education, in line with the chief minister's vision of ensuring educational opportunities reach every section of society.
One of the approved institutions will be an agriculture-focused university to be established by the Swami Brahmanand Saraswati Charitable Trust, Delhi, on over 51 acres of land at Gadanpur Ahar village in Kanpur Nagar district's Bilhaur tehsil.
The university aims to promote agricultural education and research in the state. An ordinance to amend the Uttar Pradesh Private Universities Act will be promulgated for the purpose.
The second university will be established by the Indian Institute of Management and Engineering Society, Ghaziabad, on over 26 acres of land at Dasna village in the Ghaziabad Development Authority area.
The sponsoring society already runs medical and engineering colleges, and the proposed university is expected to expand higher education opportunities in the region.
The third university will be set up by Anglo Sanskrit College, Fatehpur, on over 20 acres of land in Fatehpur Dakshini. The institution meets the prescribed land requirement for universities in urban areas, the minister said.
Upadhyay said the state has witnessed significant expansion in higher education since 2017.
He said Uttar Pradesh had only 14 state universities until 2017, while eight new state universities have been established during the present government's tenure.
He added that the number of private universities, which stood at 27 in 2017, will rise to 56 after the establishment of the three newly approved institutions.
According to the minister, the proposed universities meet all prescribed norms and are expected to provide quality higher education, research facilities and employment-oriented courses to students within the state.
This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.
