Punjab School Education Minister Mr. Harjot Singh Bains today said that including the modern city of the state SAS Nagar, the close proximity districts of the capital Rupnagar and Sri Fatehgarh Sahib will also be developed as education hubs.
Presiding over the session on "Education, Research and Skilling" during the 5th edition of the Progressive Punjab Investors' Summit-2023 at ISB Mohali, Mr. Harjot Singh Bains said that Punjab is a leading State not just in India but globally.
Highlighting various initiatives of the state government towards development of Educational Ecosystem in the State, he stressed upon the fact that Education is a priority for the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Government and government is open for innovative ideas towards growth of Education Sector.
Mr. Bains said that the literacy rate of higher education in Punjab is 76% and gender ratio in education is equal in the state. About 48% of the state's population is in the 0-25 age group, thus the state has immense potential for investment in the education sector.
The Cabinet Minister said that Punjab has secured four of the top five positions in the performance grading index of the Government of India. Similarly, as per the NITI Aayog Innovation Index Report-2020, Punjab is among the 10 states, where the educated workers are available.It is a matter of proud for us that Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar has become the best university in the country with A++ grade, he added.
Discussing multiple aspects of Education, right from increasing Learner Centric Education to Female Education to Innovation, the Education Minister said the state government has initiated the "Business Blaster scheme" in government schools and government schools will impart "Entrepreneurship Education" from the next academic session for preparing the students to meet the needs of the industry.
Shedding light on the efforts of the Punjab government in education sector, Mr. Bains said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led government is opening 117 Schools of Eminence from 9th to 12th standard.
He said that Mann government recently dispatched the batch government schools principals to Singapore to get International teaching training and the second batch would be sent to Singapore on March 4, 2023. We are also coordinating with IIM Nagpur and Ahmedabad for teacher training, he added.
While exhorting the investors to invest in the education sector, the Cabinet Minister said that we are keen to open more universities and schools in the state.Renowned Educationist Prof. Jaspal Singh Sandhu, Vice Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, highlighted the favourable environment for investment in Punjab, saying that at present the state has 25/1 teacher-students ratio and special attention is paid to teaching mathematics and language in the education system of Punjab, and the state is the best in the country in terms of teaching mathematics and language.
He said that Guru Nanak Dev University has been given A++ grade by NAAC, the university grading organization of the country, which enabled the University to start any foreign campus in the university, even without no nod of Government of India.
Another panelist, Dr. Atul Khosla, Founder, Shoolini University said, we should open the gates of educational institutions for every student so that students can further create employment opportunities with their innovative ideas.
Dr. Sandeep Kaura, Chancellor, Lamrin Tech Skill University said that Lemrin University, the first such university in the country being run in partnership with the world famous company IBM, imparting education to the students as per the global requirements. He said, our aim is to provide skilled work force to the entire world.
Addressing the session, Prof. Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT Ropar said that IIT Ropar has worldwide acknowledged for producing the best engineers in a very short span of time and has surpassed the other reputed educational institutes of the country.
Striking emotional chords with the state of Punjab, Prof. Ahuja said, he had worked in Sweden for 30 years and on returned to India, he had the opportunity to head the four reputed IITs of the country, but being a Punjabi, he chose the newly established IIT Ropar.
He informed that IIT Ropar has been declared as the best educational institution in the world for producing best graduate engineers in recent survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, University of Pennsylvania and University of Wisconsin-Madison,
Likewise, Prof. Rudra Pratap, Vice Chancellor, Plaksha University said that our institution is imparting education to the students on the lines of the century old Takshila University which first ever conducted research activities.